Four Wishes
by Billyinvisibledog
Summary: Amy wants to prove herself as a valuable member of the A Team, but can she trust their judgement? Does her wishes come true?
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Four Wishes**

**Author: Billy**

**Summary: Amy wants to prove herself as a valuable member of the A-Team, but can she trust their judgement?**

**Ratings: PG-15 **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the A-Team and I've not made a penny from this, I just do it for the _jazz_!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_'If no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team.'_

Amy sighed, typing the last words of her article into her word processor and inserted the floppy disk to save it.

It had been a month since returning from Mexico with Al Massey. She thought she'd secured herself on the team. However, all Hannibal had got her to do over the last month was basically dig up dirt on the slimeballs they were chasing. And even that didn't happen every day.

She always followed up the research she'd done for Hannibal, finding out exactly what had happened. Well, she'd done the background for him, she at least deserved to scoop the story, reporter's prerogative and all that. It wasn't as if the A-Team didn't leave a trail. However, the few stories that she did have still sat on her word processor. There was a part of her that wondered if she should run them by Hannibal first. He had made it pretty clear what she could and couldn't print and Amy was confident with her own ability and skill that her stories set the A-Team in good light. But would there be something from the stories he'd want excluded? Had she crossed the line he'd set? She didn't want to put something in the print that might jeopardise her contacts with the team. Hannibal could cut her off totally, and she definitely didn't want that. However, she wanted a good story. 

Amy placed her head in her hands and leaned on her desk. She never intended to blackmail the A-Team. They had saved a very good friend of hers but she couldn't stop thinking about the jazz. She just wanted that buzz to continue. Maybe if she could convince Hannibal that she could write up the stories of the people they helped in a certain way, he'd let her be more involved, rather than just be the information gofer she'd become. Surely they needed to advertise their specialised help? It would be a great way to generate new clients and to tell the public about the work they do. To help prove their innocence and show their country that they are good men. Even shake up the military. Rattle their cage to look further into the case that was held against them. Give this Colonel Lynch a good run for his money. And wouldn't she be the perfect resource for doing it?

Amy's phone rang, breaking her train of thoughts. She sat up and looked at the clock that was on her desk; it was coming up for half past nine in the morning.

"Amy Allen, LA Courier-Express." She answered the phone.

"Okay, Kid, need you to do some more digging about." Hannibal's voice was on the other end of the line.

"What do you need to know?" Amy asked with a slight bored tone in her voice, that luckily Hannibal didn't pick up on.

"I need you to run a check on a Carlos Flores."

"Yes, Okay," Amy responded to Hannibal. Not at all happy, she noted down what Hannibal told her, then she plucked up the courage and asked, "Hannibal, can't you let me in on this one?"

"Sorry, kid," Hannibal replied. "You're doing a great job, with the information you gave us we were able to clear out Ryder and his goons in no time."

"About that, I need to ask you…"

"Sorry, kid, I haven't got the time to talk." Hannibal cut her off.

"Wait, wait. Did you want me to meet you with the information?" Amy hoped she might get a chance to catch up with them again. Just being around the four of them sometimes gave her a buzz and she hadn't seen them all in a couple of weeks now. They sometimes met over lunch so she could inform them of the information they required, especially if she needed to share photographs or something.

"I'll call you," Hannibal said, and then hung up before Amy could ask anything else.

Amy let out a frustrated gasp and put her phone down. This wasn't the jazz, this was down right boring but she set to work finding out the information Hannibal required. However she could, Amy was going to prove she was needed for the team. But first she required coffee.

* * *

"Hannibal, I can't see how we're going to get close to this guy." Murdock spoke as Face looked through the binoculars. "Nothing gets close to him. He's got bodyguards surrounding him." That was true, the team had been studying their mark for a couple of days now, and as yet they had failed to find a way to get close to him. Hannibal had donned a couple of good disguises but with no luck. They were running out of options.

"I've noticed one thing that does get close to him," Face smiled at the rest of the team as he spoke, "pretty ladies."

Murdock smiled back at him. They had both been enjoying the view of the pretty girls surrounding the man they were watching from a distance. They seemed to be the only creatures to go unnoticed by his security.

BA grumbled in the van at Face's comments.

The guy was Carlos Flores and he was sunbathing on the beaches of Santa Monica, with a few pretty girls dressed in only skimpy bikinis surrounding him for company. So far the team had counted at least seven large bodyguards dotted around him, some standing out more obviously than others. Not allowing anyone but a bikini clad woman near him.

They sat in the black GMC van from a safe distance, carrying out their surveillance on Carlos Flores.

"You know you're right, Face." Hannibal grinned. "And I've worked out how we're gonna get close to this guy."

"How, Hannibal? The only reason those girls are allowed near him, are because he knows they can't be wired." Face sighed still watching through his binoculars following the pretty girls in their bikinis. "I mean, where could you hide a wire on something as beautiful as…"

"Lieutenant, I hope you're watching our man!" Hannibal snapped.

Face quickly moved the binoculars back onto their mark.

"There's no way we're getting near this guy unless we're in a bikini," Face added.

"Exactly!"

"Hannibal, I'm not wearing a dress, not this time." Murdock joked. That mischievous sparkle danced in his eyes.

"Yeah, you're the ugliest mama I've seen," BA giggled and shook his head at the thought. He was sitting in the driver's seat of his black van, listening to the banter between the three of them.

"BA!" Murdock replied in an upset tone.

"Guys, guys, I've got just the person in mind." Hannibal puffed at his cigar. "Amy."

Face turned towards Hannibal, putting the binoculars down.

"Amy?" Murdock asked surprised. "But Colonel, this could be dangerous."

"She won't do it." Face added in a negative tone and went back to peering through the binoculars.

"Ah, man." BA shook his head.

"Yeah, she will. She keeps asking to be more involved," Hannibal replied, grinning. "And she'll be fine. The four of us will be watching her back the whole time." He added as he saw three concerned faces in front of him.

"I'm still not sure, Colonel," Murdock replied.

"Me neither. I agree with the fool for a change!" BA added.

"If you can think of another woman, who we can trust," Hannibal raised an eyebrow as he spoke, "to do it, by all means I'm open for suggestions." Hannibal sat back in his chair and folded his arms.

All three of them shook their heads. Face almost made a suggestion but closed his mouth and went back to looking through the binoculars.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," Hannibal said. "Besides, we'll get to see what the kid's really made of." Hannibal grinned, taking a cigar from his top pocket.

"And what she looks like in a bikini," Face said looking at Hannibal but he didn't get the response he was looking for. Hannibal returned a disapproving look back and Face dropped his smile.

"And what if she doesn't do it, Hannibal, what then?" Murdock asked still with concern.

"She'll do it." Hannibal sat back and relaxed in his chair lighting his cigar. "Otherwise I'll just have to think of a plan B." And he didn't have one. Hannibal puffed on his cigar in concentration, putting his plan in place in his head. "Face, I'm gonna need a few things."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Face opened the side door to the van and Amy got in, perching herself between Face and Murdock. She had come straight from the office as soon as Hannibal had phoned her.

"Afternoon," she said smiling at them all. "Well, the golden beaches of California huh? Santa Monica. You guys really do get some tough cases."

"What'd ya find out, kid?" Hannibal asked smiling at her, ignoring her sarcasm.

Amy opened up her notebook, although she didn't really have to. There wasn't much to report. She'd out found plenty, but nothing that would interest the team or that they didn't already know. But she wasn't going to complain, the guys had asked her to meet them, so she was thrilled to be out of the office. This might be the perfect opportunity to get her scoop.

"Carlos Flores is a shrewd businessman, Hannibal. There wasn't anything extraordinary about him. His company buys and sells smaller companies. It's as simple as that really." Among her research Amy had managed to find an interview Carlos Flores had done for the business pages of the LA Courier a few months back. It had been on the lines of a successful businessman in LA and had given some personal information as well as the business details the section liked to report on. It had been very useful and of interest to her, so she shared what she needed to with the team.

"Usually the company isn't doing so well. His company comes in, buys it up, turns it around and sells it off making a tidy profit. All legal and above board. Most are slow projects, not something that happens over night. Some companies even get liquidated. Not pleasant, but totally legal. He even made it into the business pages a few months back for how he turns companies around and sells them on," Amy continued. She raised her eyebrow to the last bit. "The guy is worth a few million by all accounts. But I couldn't find any dirt. He's clean."

"Well, I think he's the one squeezing those companies so that they don't do so well," Hannibal responded.

"Yeah, then he comes in and looks like he's doing them a favour, " Face added, "by buying them out."

"Well if he is, he's doing it very well. Because there is no dirt. All of his business transactions are legit, gone through the books." Amy looked at them. "Are you watching him now?"

"Yeah, care to take a peek?" Face smiled handing her the binoculars, and she peered out on to the beach to where Face was pointing. Amy spotted the guy instantly as she recognised him from the pictures she'd dug up. He was in his early forties and had quite dark features and was taller than she imagined. He had short black wavy hair with some flecks of distinguishing grey starting to show and dark olive skin. 'Not bad,' she thought to herself, admiring the man's handsome features.

"So who's our client, and why do they think Mr Flores is the problem?" Amy asked handing back the binoculars to Face.

"Our client is Mr Joseph Keaton, of Keaton Hardware Supplies, and in the last six months his business has been suffering. Mr Flores' company has stepped in and isn't really taking no for an answer in the attempt of a buy out. Our client has been experiencing even more bad luck with his business recently, since Flores has offered to buy out his company but Keaton can't prove it's linked to him," Hannibal explained.

"So you've been hired to prove that it is," Amy replied.

"Something like that. We need to dig up the dirt." Hannibal puffed at his cigar.

"Can't the police help?" Amy asked. "If he's sure Flores is crippling his business?"

"The police aren't interested in a fall in sales, Amy, they want to see crime," Face responded. "If they can't see a crime, then they're just not interested."

"But how are we going to help? He looks clean, right, Hannibal?" Amy turned from Face to Hannibal.

"So it seems, so we need someone to go in and get close to Flores, so that we can lay the bait to find that dirt." Hannibal grinned at her, although she didn't quite notice its implications.

"So, Face is going to go in, is he?" Amy asked.

"No, kid, we were thinking you might do it." Hannibal grinned at her.

"Huh? Me?" Amy instantly looked at Hannibal and was unnerved by his smile, and then around to Face and Murdock, who were also both grinning at her. BA was the only one not showing any expression on his face. "What, I'll go in with Face?"

"Sweetheart, if I could do it, I would." Face put on his charm, placing his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "But apparently, I'm not his type." He pointed to the bikini-clad women surrounding the man in question.

"Not on my own," Amy fretted. "Surely?" She gave a nervous laugh; they had to be kidding her.

"We'll be watching you, Amy, every step of the way." Murdock placed a hand on her knee as he spoke, trying to reassure her.

They weren't kidding her.

"I don't know guys. I wasn't really expecting this. I know I said I wanted to be more involved, but in the sense that I'd be tagging along for the ride," Amy replied nervously. "No, no I don't think I can do it. Not on my own. I've never done anything like this before. Surely Face will be with me on this one?"

"I can't get close to this one, kid. And besides, you're the only one who'll suit a bikini." Face grinned at that thought.

"A bikini!" Amy snapped and looked nervously at the four men. "That's why you want me here, coz I'm the damn skirt!" Amy's furious eyes landed on BA last. He looked straight back at her.

"Don't look at me, little mama, I ain't getting involved," BA responded to her disapproving look. "This is your decision. But I'll watch your back, you be sure of that."

"Thanks, BA." She calmed momentarily then turned her attention back to Hannibal.

"I'm still not sure I can do it, Hannibal," Amy said, scowling at him. She still couldn't quite believe what they were asking of her.

"Sure you can, kid."

"Oh, come on, there must be another way," Amy argued. "A bikini! You want me to go out there like one of those bimbos?"

"Amy, sweetheart," Murdock was trying a reassuring tone. "If you look closely, he's not really interested in those girls. But with you, you'll hook him in. Unfortunately, you just need to be wearing a bikini for the heavies to let you get close."

In the last month, Amy had wanted to get more involved in the team's ventures, feel the jazz again like she had in Mexico, but not like this. She hadn't been expecting this. Surely Hannibal would have another plan? She smiled smugly at them; she knew at least one good reason why she wouldn't be able to do it.

"Well, I can't do it," she grinned. "I haven't got anything to wear." Tugging at the collar of her grey suit jacket, implying she didn't have a bikini.

As soon as she said the words, Face confidently pulled out from behind his chair a pink boutique bag and handed it to her with an equally smug smile on his face. Her own confident expression dropped.

She looked inside the bag. The guys watched her face; it instantly displayed shock at its contents or at least the lack of them. She then looked back at the four faces staring at her.

"It won't fit," Amy protested. "You don't know my size!"

"You're kidding me, right?" Face replied, a little too confident for Amy's liking now. "That's the right size." He said as he pointed to the bag she was holding.

She still wasn't sure what to say. Face tried his persuasive charm on her.

"Amy, you're the only one who can do this for us. We all have to use our assets in ways we dislike from time to time. If I could sweet talk Flores, out there," Face pointed in the direction of the beach, "then I'd be doing it already."

"But what if he wants…" Amy wasn't quite sure how to put it.

"-Hey, all we're asking for is a couple of dinner dates. You're a lady. He'll understand that." Murdock quickly reassured her by winking at her. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. And we'll be watching out for you the whole time."

"But I can't compete with those girls." Amy pointed out of the side of the van towards Carlos Flores and the women that surrounded him. "What if he doesn't even notice me?"

"Amy, you're an intelligent young lady," Murdock grabbed hold of her hand, "and extremely beautiful. Those girls won't stand a chance."

"Thanks, Murdock. You're really sweet," Amy responded sarcastically, not believing a word he was saying. "But I thought Face was supposed to be the charmer on the team." Face just grinned at Murdock as she spoke.

"So you'll do it then?" Hannibal smiled at her.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Yeah, you have a choice, kid. I'm not going to make you do something you don't want to do. But you said you wanted to be on the team, so here's your chance," Hannibal replied. "You can go back to your office if you want, and I'll have to find someone else to help us." Hannibal didn't know her that well yet, but he knew she was stubborn. He'd seen that when she had insisted on going to Mexico with them.

Amy rolled her eyes. If this was how she was going to have to prove her worthiness to be on the team, then she would. Did she have much of a choice? The stubbornness in her kicked in, as Hannibal had hoped, she would use this opportunity to show them.

"On one condition." She smiled confidently trying to hide her nerves. "I get to print the story."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

"Right, this is what we're going to do." Hannibal relayed his plan to the team. Once he was sure everyone understood he turned to Amy.

"Kid, it's your show. We'll be watching your every move." Hannibal placed his hand on her shoulder. He could see how nervous she was starting to look. "You'll be just fine."

Amy nodded in response, although her stomach started to churn with nerves.

"And if at any point you think you are in danger and you need out. Just give the signal and well have you out of there in a flash," Hannibal said. He'd provided her with a signal that if she needed to escape and quickly, all she had to do was give it. It would go unnoticed by Flores and his men, but his team would know immediately she was in danger.

Amy nodded again and then took a deep breath.

"Right, well if I'm going to do this, I've got to get changed. So all of you out of the van."

Without being asked twice, BA was the first to get out, but Face and Murdock hesitated.

Face smiled. "You sure you won't need a hand…"

"Out!" Amy said firmly to them pointing to the side door of the van.

"Face, Murdock, let's leave Amy to get ready," Hannibal insisted as he opened his door to get out of the van. He really didn't need her changing her mind. If he was honest with himself, there wasn't anyone else he'd trust to do this job if Amy changed her mind about being the roper for Flores. Amy had been around the team just over a month now, helping them out by gathering research for cases. She'd never betrayed them by calling the military, so she had at least earned the right to be trusted as a friend of the team.

Once all four men were out of the van, she was about to slide the door closed when she remembered something. "And if I see one head come round the front of this van, I'll knock it clean off, I swear!"

All four gave their expressions as if they understood and started to walk to the back of the van.

"I'll go get us all coffee." Face gestured to a coffee stand near where they were parked.

Amy slid the van door close, held the pink boutique bag in her hands and took a deep breath.

"I can do this," she said to herself. "And I'll prove to these guys, I'm not just any old piece of skirt."

* * *

Ten minutes later checking her makeup in the compact mirror she carried in her purse, Amy felt ready to emerge from the van. She was thankful that Face had also purchased a satin robe that went with the red bikini, although personally she would have preferred a beach dress, a long beach dress, come to think of it. The robe was short, just resting on her thighs but did give her some cover. Amy wanted to wrap the robe around her to keep herself completely covered up, but knew this would make her look rather odd walking along the beach. So she left it open at the front, revealing her slender body and a perfectly fitting bikini. It frustrated her that Face had been right about the fitting of the bikini. How does he do that? The cups were padded too, equally adding to her frustration that he'd been cheeky enough to suggest it. But the bikini did suit her.

Luckily the shoes she'd been wearing also went with the outfit, so she would keep them on until she reached the sand. Amy noticed a beach towel and sun cream laid out for her. Did she need anything else? She rummaged through her purse to find her sunglasses.

"Okay, I think I'm ready," she said to herself as she got the background straight in her head that Hannibal had told her. She felt as nervous as hell, but she wasn't going to show the guys that. And she certainly wasn't going to stand around with them and let the anxiety she was feeling grow. Especially considering what she had to wear. She took another deep breath and then slid open the side door to the van.

Amy emerged, a picture of confidence, from the van and walked past the four men waiting patiently for her. Although the sunglasses covered her eyes, she was still too nervous to look any of them truly in the eye but she firmly pushed the empty pink boutique bag into Face's chest as she walked past him. He grabbed the bag from her, stunned by her actions. She didn't see the expressions on their faces, she didn't want to. If she had looked she would have seen that Face and Murdock's mouths were open with no words coming out and Hannibal had a grin like a Cheshire cat. With the towel slung over her arm and sun cream in her right hand, she headed for the sandy beach in front of her and the mark, Carlos Flores.

Although her nerves were playing with her mind, she made sure that she looked confident. With her head held high and her long brown hair bouncing with every step, she walked towards the beach. If she had been on holiday she would feel fine, she'd blend in but she knew that this was different. This was to get the attention of Flores, this was to use her sexuality and it felt different, she even worried that it felt wrong. She was also conscious that she had four men that would be watching her every move, which made her feel more conscious since she was wearing only a bikini. I've only known them a couple of months can I really trust them? She thought to herself as she walked. But then she remembered how they had saved Al Massey and it reminded her that these four men were good men. Maybe this would be a test for them too, for her to see if she could truly trust them. After all, her safety was in their hands.

* * *

The four men got back into the van and watched as Amy noticeably walked on to the beach. She confidently walked straight past all of Flores' bodyguards without them even twitching. They all gave her a look up and down in approval as they had done with most of the pretty girls on the beach. She continued to slowly walk past Flores and the girls that surrounded him. As she did so, she took off her sunglasses and flicked her long brown hair off her shoulders. Momentarily she caught his eye and gave a subtle smile and then turned away, to look for a lounge chair. The guys wouldn't have been able to get anywhere near him as easily as Amy just had.

"That guy will have to be blind not to notice her." Murdock said pretty much what all four of them were thinking.

"Lieutenant, I think I'll have those binoculars, now," Hannibal ordered. Face sighed and reluctantly handed over the binoculars. "Right, everyone knows what they got to do."

The three men nodded to their Colonel.

"Then, let's move it. I want to make sure Amy isn't on her own."

* * *

Amy chose a lounge chair close to Carlos Flores and his 'groupies' as Amy was starting to call them to herself. Tucking her sunglasses up into her hair, taking her long brown hair off of her face, she looked back over to the mark.

By looking over at him often enough, she hoped that naturally he would soon catch her eye. Like a sixth sense, turning to find someone looking at him and catching their eye, and indeed Carlos Flores did with Amy. She smiled at him, trying to keep her actions subtle and not too obvious. Luckily he's rather handsome, she thought to herself. If he'd been anything remotely unattractive Amy would have found this act even harder to perform. The report she had read on him had certainly been of interest to her. She was intrigued to know more about him. It will all aid to a good story, she thought. So maybe this won't be so hard after all.

Amy placed the towel on her lounge chair and then took off her robe. The next time she looked over to him, he was already looking at her. Amy blushed.

With continuous smiles and flirtatious glances, Flores couldn't resist anymore. He left his flock of women, the groupies, a couple of which threw Amy disapproving glances as he did so. Flores walked towards Amy who was sat on her lounge chair starting to apply sun cream to her body.

* * *

"By jove, I think the ol' girl may have got him," Murdock said in an English accent. Murdock was now peering through the binoculars watching Amy who was now in conversation with Flores.

"Let me see!" Face tried grabbing them off of Murdock, but he childishly fought with Face to not hand them over.

"Captain, can I have the binoculars back, please?" Hannibal asked, disapproving of his two friends' behaviour. Murdock, without hesitation, handed the binoculars to Hannibal. "Right and BA's in place. Face, you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," he replied with a reluctant tone. "Why is it always me, huh?"

"I don't know. You just got this look about you, Faceman, that says hit me." Murdock grinned.

Face shook his head un-assured by Murdock's comment and got out of the van and headed for the beach.

* * *

"Would you like me to put some cream on your back?" Flores asked, smiling at Amy.

"Would you mind?" Amy smiled sweetly and handed him the sun cream.

"Not at all." Flores took the cream from her and Amy turned her back to him. "Wouldn't want you to burn." He crouched down and brushed her hair off of her shoulders and then massaged some cream into her back. His touch was gentle and sensuous and Amy actually relaxed. He's good, she thought.

"Your little posse of girls won't mind will they?" Amy could see a couple of them staring at her and Flores.

"No, they won't mind," Flores chuckled. "If I'm honest, they were boring me."

"Oh." Amy wasn't sure how to take that statement and said the first thing that entered her head. "Pretty girls bore you do they?" Amy worried she may have asked the wrong thing, but relaxed when she heard Flores laugh.

"They're alright, but the conversation tends to dry up after a while."

"So, you thought you'd come over here, and see what I had to say."

"Something like that," Flores said as he continued to apply the sun cream. "You know, I'm standing here rubbing cream into a beautiful woman's back, and I don't even know her name." He gently whispered into her ear from behind, which sent a sensation through her she wasn't quite expecting.

Amy turned to face him, and smiled. For someone with such dark features, she was stunned by his bright blue eyes that stared back at her. She couldn't believe how blue they were, similar to Hannibal's; they carried some kind of jazz in them.

"Amy, Amy Phillips." She looked him straight in the eye and smiled. "And I suppose I really should know the name of the gentleman massaging cream into my back."

Flores was just about to respond when a voice called out and grabbed both of their attentions.

"Amy! Amy, is that you?" Face walked towards her, with glasses on and a dorky look to him. He used a different accent and higher tone to his usual voice. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Oh hell!" Amy cursed.

"And who's this guy, huh?" Face continued pointing at Flores. "I saw him with his hands all over you."

"Glenn, will you just get lost?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Amy saw Flores snap his fingers at two of his bodyguards that were already making their way over to the commotion.

"I'm telling your father about this." Face continued to argue with Amy

"About what? Glenn, we broke up over a month ago now," Amy said angrily, as she stood between Face and Flores.

Flores' two large bodyguards quickly had Face in a firm, rough hold, each gripping an arm tightly. Face gave a wince and nervous laugh at the two large men.

"Amy, would you like me to get rid of this pain in the ass?" Flores politely asked her ignoring Face completely and nodding at two of his bodyguards, who started to drag Face away from Amy. Luckily for Face, BA had also arrived.

"No, no, it's okay, my assistant will take care of him." Amy said spotting BA arriving. BA was dressed similarly to that of Flores' bodyguards, wearing a dark suit with a little of his gold showing. He had blended in with them until now. "BA, please can you show Glenn the road." Her tone was firm and believable.

BA nodded and Flores' bodyguards let go of Face as he approached. "Yes, Miss Phillips." And he growled at Face, whose expression changed to fear.

Amy smugly smiled at Face who was now being dragged off the beach by BA. "Goodbye, Glenn," she said sarcastically waving as she did so.

"Amy! I'm sorry!" Face could be heard protesting in the distance whilst being dragged by BA.

"I'm sorry about that…" Amy said turning to Flores.

"Carlos, my name is Carlos Flores."

"Carlos," Amy smiled. "He's an old boyfriend who just hasn't got the message yet. My father thought he was an appropriate suitor for me, but, oh." Amy shook herself as if in disgust. "The man is a creep."

"Suitor?"

"Yes, my dearest Papa wants me married off. Never had a son you see. And as Glenn works for my father, he thought he'd set us up," Amy continued. "Backfired obviously, because I didn't fall in love with him, but he keeps on hounding me. It was utterly depressing and archaic of my father though. You wouldn't believe this is the 80's. You really don't want to be bored with the half of it."

"Who's the heavy?"

"Oh, BA. He also works for my father." Amy let out a sigh. "My father likes to know I'm safe and as he can't watch me all the time, he hired a bodyguard to do it for him." Amy tried to sound frustrated by the lack of independence. "BA, for bad attitude apparently," she giggled.

"Well, maybe over dinner, you could tell me all your problems." Carlos smiled at her and gently brushed her hair. "I'm a very good listener."

Amy smiled. "You know, I would like that, very much."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"I don't get it," Amy said, fiddling with her earrings. She sat in the back of the limousine with Hannibal, wearing a black evening dress that Face had provided for her. "Why would Carlos want me to go to his mansion for dinner, rather than a fancy restaurant?"

"Because when you are worth millions, kid, you can buy your own chef," Hannibal replied, straightening his tie. "Now you told him I was coming, didn't you?"

"Yes, Papa," Amy grinned. She could see by the expression on his face, he wasn't amused. He'd already had a couple of jibes from Murdock and Face about playing her father. "I told him that you were insistent that I had a chaperone. That you are like this with all of my first dates."

"Good."

"He seemed rather pleased, he wants to meet you."

"Of course he does, he's probably been digging around. Wants to find out about the Phillips Empire that Face has nicely created." Hannibal grinned, the jazz starting to twinkle in his eyes. Amy could see it and rolled her own eyes.

"Colonel, we're nearly there," Murdock called back, handsomely dressed as a chauffeur.

"You ready, kid?" Hannibal said to Amy, and she nodded. "Got the bug?"

"Yeah, BA put it in my compact, it's in my purse," Amy replied double-checking her purse to make sure she had everything she needed.

"Face and BA are in the van, at a safe distance. So if we run into trouble, we have backup. Murdock will be able to give the signal. But you're gonna be fine, kid." Hannibal could see the nerves rising in Amy as she fidgeted. "Just fine. You look great." He smiled at her and she felt reassured by his words.

"Thanks, Hannibal."

"So how do I look?" He grinned, the jazz sparkling in his eyes as he checked his cufflinks and smoothed down his dinner jacket. Amy couldn't help but smile.

"You look great too."

The black limousine pulled up to the huge iron gates of Flores' mansion. Murdock pushed a button for the electric window to go down, and spoke to the security guard on the gate.

"Miss Phillips and Mr Phillips to see Mr Flores." Murdock announced his passengers to the guard, and was waved through.

As he drove in, Murdock grinned in the mirror. "You know, Hannibal, I can't believe you're a dad."

Amy smirked at Murdock's teasing as Hannibal shook his head. Was he ever going to hear the end of this?

Murdock pulled the limo around to the front of the mansion and got out of the car to open the side door, as a chauffeur would do. Amy and Hannibal emerged from the limo. Hannibal held out his arm, and Amy linked hers into his and together they walked to the front door.

It was a warm summer's evening, and there were still a couple of hours of daylight left. The mansion was as expected, grand, and surrounded by perfectly tended to gardens. Amy could feel the butterflies in her stomach.

A butler greeted them at the door. "Mr Flores will be with you shortly, if you would like to follow me."

They arrived in the library, which had two leather couches in the centre, the walls covered with shelves full of books.

A large man in a suit who Amy presumed would be a bodyguard followed them in. Hannibal didn't seem fazed by the large man's presence. He just grinned and nodded to seem friendly.

"I'm sorry, but Mr Flores has quite a strict security code," the butler said as he gestured to the bodyguard.

"There really isn't any need," Hannibal objected. He had an idea Flores would have his guests checked, but he wanted his reactions to appear normal.

"I'm afraid he insists on this for all his guests."

Hannibal hesitated for a moment. "Okay," he said as he emptied out his pockets and the bodyguard patted him down, finding nothing.

The bodyguard then turned to Amy. She assumed he wasn't going to pat her down like he'd just done Hannibal. Her dress clung to her figure. She wasn't able to hide anything under it.

"Your purse please, ma'am."

Amy handed the purse and smiled at the large man. He emptied the contents of her purse onto a small table, and checked all of the items, which were mainly makeup. He appeared happy with what he saw and put the contents gently back into the purse and handed it back to her.

"Thank you," she said as she took the purse from him.

"If you would like to make yourself comfortable here, I'll let Mr Flores know that you are waiting," the butler confirmed. "Sir, would you like me to take your jacket for you?"

"No thank you. I'll be fine," Hannibal confirmed and took a seat on the couch.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Carlos Flores entered the library. He was smartly dressed, wearing a dark tailored suit with a coordinating tie. Amy couldn't help think he looked even sexier than he'd done on the beach.

"I'm so sorry. Business," Flores shook his head, "there is always business to attend to. But now I must concentrate on pleasure." He kissed Amy on the cheek and then turned to Hannibal and shook his hand. "Mr Phillips."

"Mr Flores."

"Please, call me Carlos," he said smiling. His smile could almost give Face a run for his money, thought Hannibal. I'll hand it to him, the guy is smooth.

"Then, please call me Harry," Hannibal smiled back.

Flores escorted his guests to his dining room. Servants were available to assist them at the table, pulling out their chairs for them to sit. Amy tried to take everything in. The grand surroundings were something she had never experienced and it all felt surreal. She noticed that Hannibal, however, was just lapping it up; as if this was something he was accustomed to everyday.

Throughout the five courses of dinner, served in top Nouvelle cuisine, the three of them talked. Amy couldn't help think as the courses were served, how Face would also have appreciated the sophistication and elegance of it all. All courses were brought out on silver platters with silver domes in perfect tiny portions.

Hannibal was pleased to be able to talk business with Flores. Although he allowed Flores to do most of the talking, hoping it might give him some leads. Hannibal was careful with what he said, not being a true businessman in the sense, he didn't want to give himself away. But he was able to slip into the conversation the information he needed to about the Phillips business, which Flores certainly seemed interested in. But every now and then, Flores would remember his manners and concentrate his attention on Amy. Flores would make tiny gestures towards her like taking her hand or brushing her cheek and would listen intently to every word she spoke. He was definitely taken by her, thought Hannibal. Even in this short time, Flores seemed hooked. His actions certainly portrayed that of a perfect gentleman but would he show his darker side?

Amy listened intently to Hannibal and Carlos. He came across as quite a gentleman and very polite even when Hannibal would deliberately say something to see what reaction it got. Hannibal was obviously testing Carlos by some of the things he'd say or by the tone he took about a subject but Carlos didn't bite. In fact Carlos didn't show any signs of rudeness or cruelty that Hannibal was searching for. Either this guy was good or they were barking up the wrong tree. That Carlos was not behind their client's problems. But then this was the first date. Maybe time would tell?

As the evening wore on, Hannibal and Amy had perfect family stories all laid out to tell Flores, which aided their pretence of father and daughter relationship.

"Papa would always insist that every year, we go camping and fishing." Amy laughed at her own story, as she sipped at her champagne, "I'm sure you were disappointed I wasn't a son."

Hannibal chuckled. Then Flores also chuckled seeing that the two of them were light hearted in their comments to one another.

"My dear, yes I would have liked a son, but I couldn't have dreamed of having a better daughter," Hannibal replied affectionately as he sipped at the coffee, which had been freshly poured for him.

"You have a very beautiful daughter, Harry." Flores took Amy's hand and kissed it. She could feel the heat rising in her face.

"She sure is, but I'm biased of course," Hannibal grinned. "Well, Carlos, that meal was delicious."

"Glad you enjoyed it," Flores replied.

"Will you excuse me?" Amy dabbed her lips with her napkin. "Please may I visit your powder room?"

"Of course, just down the hall, follow it around to the left," Flores replied, pointing in the direction she should head. "And it's the second door on the right. I'll get Andrew to show you." Flores started to summon one of his butlers.

"There's no need. I'll find it. Thank you." Amy smiled sweetly at Flores and rose from the table, taking her purse.

* * *

"Psst!" Amy turned around to see Murdock standing in a small gap he'd made, with the door ajar. He signalled for her to come to him. 

"How did you get in?" Amy whispered as she joined Murdock and he closed the door behind them. She took in the surroundings quickly and realised it must have been Carlos' study. To the left of the room was a large built in cabinet. The large dark oak doors to it went from the floor to the ceiling. She half expected them to be a secret entrance to another room.

"Never you mind. How I get out will be the clever part." He flashed her a smile. His eyes had a mischievous glint in them. Was he really crazy or just hiding behind another persona? "Have you got the bug?"

"If you got in so easily, why didn't you bring the bug?" Amy asked as she started quickly rummaging through her purse.

"Okay, okay, I've been rumbled." Murdock grinned at her. "I asked to go to the bathroom and so they had to search me."

"What?" Amy couldn't hide the tone of panic in her voice. "But I've just said I needed to use the bathroom!" She handed him the compact.

"Relax, Amy. A house this big has plenty of bathrooms," he replied, giving her a wink and then he headed over to the desk. As he started to remove the bug from her compact, they both heard a noise outside in the corridor. Murdock's instant reaction was to grab Amy and hide them both in the large cabinet. They were able to stand inside one part of it, although squashed tightly together. Murdock put his finger up to his mouth to signal for her to keep quiet and with his other arm pulled her close to him. His eyes flitted from hers to looking through the gap in the cabinet doors. Amy kept her eyes on Murdock the whole time, watching him intently.

Murdock pulled her closer to him and shut the cabinet door as a man entered the room. The man was cussing and swearing and as far as they could tell put something on the desk and then walked out again. Amy's heart pounded and clung onto Murdock tighter. Was this the jazz? Murdock seemed so calm. Whereas all she could think about was if they were caught, that would be it. Game over.

Murdock realised he now had both arms around her. Being stuck in the VA didn't allow you to hold pretty young girls often and there was this silly patient and nurses rule that just didn't make any sense. So he was rather enjoying this brief encounter. He had no doubt that she was pretty. There was just enough light in the cabinet that he could look down into her deep brown eyes that were nervously staring back at him. Without even really thinking about it, he gently placed his lips on hers and kissed her.

Amy momentarily widened her eyes with surprise at Murdock's gesture but didn't withdraw from the kiss or push him away. As he pulled her closer she relaxed into the kiss, allowing his tongue to gently stroke hers. Surprisingly, his kiss made her feel safe and he wasn't bad at kissing either. Finally he broke the embrace.

"Er, shit…" Murdock suddenly let go of her. "Sorry about that." He glanced into the room and then opened up the large cabinet door when he was sure the coast was clear. "That really wasn't meant to happen," he said as he stepped out of the cabinet, finding it hard to look her in the eye. Don't be so childish.

"Sorry for what?" Amy smiled mischievously at him as she followed. Murdock was handsome, not in the same way Face was with his dashing good looks, but handsome all the same. He had a shining personality of unselfish nature. There was something fun and loveable about him that appealed to her. She was finding it hard to hide the fact that she'd enjoyed the kiss, although he was nervously smiling back at her.

"Amy, you go now. Otherwise they'll wonder where you are." Murdock decided it was best to change the subject and get back to what he was supposed to be doing. He walked back over to the desk and starting flicking through the file that had just been left.

"Should you be doing that?"

"I'm about to leave a bug in his office, and you're worried about me looking through a folder?" Murdock looked at her in disbelief. She rolled her eyes. It did seem rather silly. "Isn't the reporter in you the slightest bit interested in what's in this folder?"

"Of course." She joined him at the desk and they both looked at the paperwork in the folder. "It looks like the next company he's thinking of buying out," Amy said as she flicked through the various pieces of paper. "Company figures, that sort of thing. All looks legal and above board from where I'm standing."

"Damn shame. Our job would have been done, otherwise," Murdock said, retrieving the compact from his pocket and handed it back to Amy. "Now, you really should go."

"Okay, but what about you?" She put the compact back in her purse, intently watching him set up the bug.

"Don't you worry about me, Chica," he winked. "I'll be back at that limo, before you can say Jack rabbit."

"Jack rabbit," she responded sarcastically and Murdock rolled his eyes, waving his hands to shoo her away.

Amy smiled and listened from behind the door to check the corridor was clear. When she was confident she opened the door and hurried out. As she walked around the corner she bumped into a member of staff who looked at her with interrogation.

"Sorry, I've seemed to have got lost. Could you please tell me where the restroom is?" She hoped she didn't sound too flustered.

"Certainly, madam."

* * *

Amy hurriedly adjusted herself in the restroom, checking her makeup and her dress. Conscious that she'd taken far too long and Carlos would get suspicious she hurried back to the table. But slowed herself down as she reached the room she knew Carlos and Hannibal were in.

As she approached the table she could hear Hannibal joking with Carlos.

"I was just saying, what do women do in the restroom that takes them so long?"

"Well, you know, Papa, we like to make sure we look our best. Especially when on a date." She smiled at Carlos. He didn't seem suspicious of her. He responded with a smile back and a chuckle at Hannibal's comment.

"Well, I for one don't disapprove. However, someone as beautiful as you doesn't need to spend that much time in the restroom." Amy blushed as Carlos spoke. The compliments she was receiving didn't seem quite believable. Maybe he was after something?

"Shall we have coffee in the solarium?" Carlos stood from the table and took Amy's hand to lead her round the table. He didn't let go either. He gently held it as they walked together.

Hannibal walked the other side of her. His expression didn't show it, but he was grinning on the inside.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Here you go, Amy," Face said as he opened the door to the hotel suite. It was rather late, Amy had just returned with Hannibal from Carlos' dinner date. She was feeling exhausted and just needed her bed.

As she walked into the suite she was amazed by the size of it. On the way up in the elevator, Face had bragged about it being a penthouse suite but she'd been too tired to pay much attention. Now standing in the suite, luxury wasn't enough to describe it. It was pristine. Decorated in rich yellows and creams with matching lavish furnishings. She felt like she was going to live like a princess for however long this case took.

"Wow, Face, how do you do it?" Amy shook her head in disbelief. They were standing in the living room and she could see a dining room off of it. Face had a smug expression. She couldn't help but think that she seemed to be asking him that question a lot lately. "But do you really think it's necessary for me to be in this suite? I mean it's only supposed to be a couple of dates with Carlos." She'd told Carlos that recently moving to the area she and her father were staying at the City Skye, a five star hotel that overlooked Santa Monica's beaches, until they found something more permanent. Face had procuredas he called itthe other penthouse suite, on Mr Phillip's behalf, on the same floor for the rest of the team to stay at so they were close to Amy.

"Flores will be checking you out as we speak. He needs to think you're rich, hence the five star hotel, so that you look as if you are not after him for his money." Face put his arm around her waist and turned her around so that she took in the whole apartment. Amy looked down at his hand then at him disapprovingly but didn't make him remove his arm. "Even if it is for just a couple of dates, kid."

"And he'll buy it?" Would Carlos really be checking her and Hannibal out to make sure their story stuck? That concerned her. What if he did find out who she really was? This seemed like too much to take in.

"Of course he'll buy it," Face reassured her. "By the time Flores works out who you really are, we'll have him hung out to dry, kid."

"I hope so." Amy was rather nervous about dating Carlos and what it could lead to. Tonight he'd seemed the perfect gentleman, so gentle and kind towards her. Very different to what she had expected considering the reasons she was supposed to be getting close to him. But if his behaviour tonight was anything to go by, she just couldn't quite believe Carlos was capable of being as cruel as implied and that he was behind their client's misfortunes.

"Hang on." Amy started to worry. This was a lovely hotel suite, there had to be a catch. "How did you book this place? Can we afford it?"

"Amy, Amy, Amy," Face continued to hold his arm around her waist, although he could sense she wasn't happy with it and that her guard was up. He could smell the rich floral scent of her perfume. It suited her and she looked extremely pretty in her black evening dress, all made up for Flores' benefit. And by the sounds of things from Hannibal it had worked too. "I can't give away all of my trade secrets now, can I?"

"But Face, I'm a law-abiding citizen. I have a good job and I pay my taxes. I don't want to wind up in jail if I get caught in this place because I'm not supposed to be here, or the bill hasn't been paid."

"You won't. Trust me. I do this all the time."

"You do?"

"Yeah, it's a bit like, well, how shall I put it?" Face was rolling his hands in front of him as he spoke, a habit of his she'd noticed when he was on a con or trying to convince someone that the sky was pink. "A favour for this person, favour for that person. Nobody questions it."

"They don't?"

"No," Face said confidently and then smiled. Amy was still trying to decipher if she could trust that smile.

Murdock entered the apartment and Face dropped his arm from around Amy's waist and started to show her about. Murdock had his hands full of various dresses and suits on their hangers covered in clear plastic as if they'd come from the dry cleaners.

"Where do you want these, Amy?" He sounded out of breath.

"Oh, in the bedroom. Where ever that is?" She looked at Face hoping he'd give her the answer.

"The bedroom is this way." Face took her arm and directed her to the bedroom. It was another luxurious room. She could see there was a bathroom off of it, twice the size of hers at home. "You've got the suite with only one bedroom I'm afraid. I needed the two-bedroom suite for us. But nice, don't you think?" He gestured to the bedroom they'd now entered. Amy didn't answer him, but just weakly smiled back.

Murdock started to lay the clothes on the enormous king size bed.

"Murdock, hang them straight in the closet, please," Amy said picking up the clothes he'd already laid on the bed. "I don't want them to crease." Amy took them into what she noticed was a walk in closet. She almost wanted to pinch herself. A room just to store her clothes and shoes in.

"Oh, sorry," Murdock said and left the room, leaving Amy to continue to hang the clothes.

"Face, you sure these clothes will fit me?" She asked as she studied the outfits she was hanging up. Most of the outfits cost at least a month's salary at the paper. Designer labels she'd only ever dreamed of owning. All for the image Hannibal wanted. Carlos needed to believe she was already well looked after and that she wouldn't be looking for his money. It needed to look like a mutual attraction. She shook her head, wanting to pinch herself again.

"Amy," his tone was so sure of itself. "They'll fit you. Trust me." He looked her straight in the eye. Convincing blue eyes.

Amy just laughed. "Trust you!" He's saying it again. He's a conman by nature, she thought, and expects me to believe every word he says. She was determined not to look as if she was falling for any of his charm. Especially as she'd seen how he'd worked on other women. He'll just think I'm as gullible as the rest of them.

"Now this," Face ignored her comments and pulled out a dark blue dress from the closet, "I chose this in a size 4 because the 6 would definitely have been too big." He looked her up and down as he did so, and then raised an eyebrow. "If you know what I mean?"

"A four!" I'll never fit in a 4, she thought. "And how'd you know I was a size 6, Face?"

"Let's just say it's a talent of mine." He just continued to grin at her, looking her up and down.

"Faceman is good with all sorts of figures, Amy, not just the numerical kind." Murdock winked at her. Obviously he had overheard the conversation between the two of them as he came back into the bedroom laden with more outfits and shoes. He was about to place them on the bed, but Amy shot him a look to tell him otherwise.

"Trust me. You'll find the fabric is quite stretchy, it'll cling to you beautifully," he said too smoothly and put the dress up against her again, smiling, too confidently. Her expression showed that she was not amused but Face didn't seemed to be fazed.

"That's them all, muchacho." Murdock confirmed to Face after hanging the last of the outfits in the closet.

Amy couldn't believe how Face had got hold of all these outfits. Maybe it's best not to ask about that too, not if she wanted to sleep tonight.

"But will I need all of these outfits?" She'd counted roughly fifteen outfits, which seemed rather a lot for a couple of dates.

"I know how you girls are. I thought you might like to have a choice," Face replied. "And it's good to be prepared for every eventuality. There's an outfit for lunch, brunch, theatre…"

"Oh, right. I suppose."

"Now if you would like me to stay behind, and, er… let's say, help you try on some of these dresses." He held the blue dress back up against her.

"No, Face, I think I'll be able to try on the dresses quite confidently by myself, thank you." Amy grinned sarcastically back, snatching the blue dress out of his hand and started to push him out of the bedroom. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm tired and would really like to go to bed." Face smiled at her. "On my own!"

"Amy, I wouldn't…" Face started to hastily walk out of the bedroom. "Right, well, we'll be down the hall." Amy followed, ushering him out. "You've got the room number if you need it." Amy nodded still pushing him out towards the front door.

"Yeah, anything you need Amy, you just give us a call." Murdock smiled. A reassuring smile that you could trust. He put down the gadget he was now playing with and followed Face to the door realising Amy's mood was not improving.

"I'll be fine." And she closed the door behind them as they left.

She walked back into the bedroom and looked at the blue dress. She couldn't resist trying it on, just to prove Face wrong. A four was never going to fit.

"Well I'll be damned," Amy said five minutes later standing in front of a full-length mirror. She was inside the walk in closet, wearing the dark blue dress. It fitted perfectly and clung to her figure as Face had said. A size 6 would have been too big, especially around the bust. Her expression changed to frustration and anger at that thought. "Damn it, he even knows my darn bust size!"

* * *

"Penny for your thoughts, Sir."

Carlos looked up, startled, to see his butler standing in front of his desk and smiled. He raised an eyebrow.

"I did knock, but you were, let's say, preoccupied." The butler smiled and placed a large crystal brandy snifter on the desk in front of him. "Your brandy, Sir."

"Sorry, Andrew. I was looking at this." Carlos closed the file in front of him and rubbed his eyes, before looking up at the butler. "But my mind was elsewhere. When did Wesley drop the file off?"

"While you were at dinner, Sir."

"I think I'll leave it until tomorrow now, it's getting very late and I can't concentrate on it at the moment."

The butler started to leave the study, but hesitated. "Is it because of the girl, Mr Flores?"

Carlos laughed. He'd known his butler long enough to allow him these questions. In fact, he liked it. He took the brandy in his hand and leant back in his leather chair, catching Andrew's eye so that he would continue.

"She seemed delightful enough."

"Yes, she did, didn't she? Yes, I like her. A lot," Carlos said, breaking the eye contact to watch the brandy swirl in the crystal glass. "She's not like the rest of them. She's pretty, but intelligent and for a woman so young she seems to have her head on straight. I just felt like I could be myself around her. And at least I don't have to worry that she's just after me for money; seems she has plenty of her own." Carlos broke his focus on the brandy glass and turned towards his butler, leaning on the desk. "Her father was an interesting man too, although I'm not sure that I like him. But then I'm not thinking about dating him, am I?" Carlos laughed again and his butler smiled in return.

"So does this mean you are seeing her again?" the butler asked as Carlos stood up and walked over to his cabinet to shut the door properly.

"Yes, tomorrow. She's agreed to meet me for lunch," Carlos replied, smiling. He sat back down at his desk. "That reminds me, please could you book The Olive Tree for tomorrow lunch time?"

"Certainly, Sir. Anything else before I retire for the evening?"

"No, that will be all." Carlos leant back in his chair and sipped at his brandy. "Thank you, Andrew. Good night."

"Good night, Mr Flores." Carlos waited until his butler left the study before finishing his brandy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Hannibal sat in the office of the team's client, Joseph Keaton. From what Mr Lee had found out, Joseph Keaton was a proud man and had worked hard all of his life. His small family business that he'd built from scratch had been growing successfully until about six months ago. Stock had started to go missing hence delaying promised deliveries. And in return the company's reputation was starting to falter and so clientele were going elsewhere.

"Then about six weeks ago, I get an offer for my company from Flores Corporations. Wanting to buy us out," Joseph said as he puffed on his cigar from behind his desk. Hannibal listened intently although he'd already heard the story before. Joseph Keaton was the type of person to repeat himself. Probably forgotten he's given me this information already, he thought as he too puffed at a cigar. "Saw that we were suffering, and thought they could help. A little too conveniently, if you ask me."

"So, what made you think he was part of the trouble?"

"Because when I said no, things started to get worse." Joseph leant on his desk towards Hannibal. "Every business has its peaks and troughs; I thought we'd pick up again. But we didn't, stock continued to go missing, deliveries disappeared, problems started to occur at the office."

"Problems?"

"Yeah, we've had three fires in the space of two weeks, and some guys coming around, scaring my employees," Joseph answered. "At the rate I'm losing customers, my company will go bust in a couple more months. I just hope that I'm right and it is Flores and I haven't wasted your time. Because if I'm wrong, I'm going to lose my business."

"Joseph, if you're right, your business will pick up again and you'll be able to pay our fee. You won't be wasting our time," Hannibal said trying to reassure the man. "Besides, I met Flores last night. And I think you could be right. There's something about him, so we'll soon see."

"How?" Joseph sat up in his chair with interest. "Not that I'm questioning your ability, Mr Smith. But how will you see if it's him?"

Hannibal grinned and then the sparkle of the jazz flickered in his eyes. "Oh, we've left the mouse some cheese, to see if he'll bite." Hannibal chuckled and put on a slight accent that he'd been using with Flores. "Phillips Services has expanded out to the West coast. It's a potential risk to the business if it doesn't take off, you see. Been successful on the East and thought we'd expand."

Joseph chuckled at Hannibal's accent. "So, you're waiting for some trouble to start up in you newly established company, huh? I like it."

"Yeah, Face has done all the hard work and I've given Flores enough baloney he'll think he's onto a winner trying to buy out our company." Hannibal returned to his usual tone. "Face is setting up a location as we speak; found us a lovely little warehouse. If Flores is involved, then he'll bite soon enough."

"How'd you get him to meet you? I've heard he's very hard to get an appointment with."

"Ah, Joseph, best I don't give away all my trade secrets," Hannibal said, puffing on his cigar.

Joseph chuckled but then his expression sobered. "But I'd be careful Hannibal, Flores could be a dangerous man to cross."

"Don't worry. My men and I have dealt with worse slime before now. This guy will be a walk in the park."

* * *

Murdock, once again dressed as the chauffeur, got out of the black limousine. He swiftly walked around and opened the door for Amy, who emerged in another stunning designer red two-piece suit. 

"Don't worry, sweetheart, BA and I will be right behind you if you need us." Murdock winked at her as she stepped out of the car. "And don't look so nervous, you look great. He's going to be like putty in your hands."

"Thanks, Murdock." Amy nervously smiled and took a deep breath. Carlos had asked to meet for lunch but unlike last night, where she had Hannibal for support, she was doing this alone.

She walked up to the restaurant entrance. The Olive Tree was one of those exclusive restaurants that usually had a two-month waiting list, unless you were someone special. Carlos Flores obviously had to be someone special, Amy thought. Otherwise he wouldn't have suggested meeting here.

"Hi, Amy Phillips. I'm here to meet Mr Carlos Flores." Amy told the maître d' that greeted her.

"Yes, certainly Miss Phillips, this way." And he led her through the restaurant to one of the tables outside on a terrace where Carlos sat waiting for her. He looked handsomely dressed in a tailored suit. He wasn't wearing a tie; instead he had the top buttons of his shirt undone. She smiled and raised an eyebrow. He looked incredibly handsome. She silently ticked herself off. She had to stop thinking about how attractive he was. He stood up the minute he saw her and took her hand and kissed it.

"Amy, you look," he paused; she assumed he was trying to find the right words, "stunning." She responded with a smile and blushed. He's far too smooth Amy; don't fall for it, she told herself.

The maître d' pushed her chair in as she sat down and then asked what she would like to drink.

"I thought we could drink champagne," Carlos interrupted. Amy nodded; she would just have to remember to drink it slowly. Carlos looked back up to the maître d'. "My usual then, please."

"Yes, of course, Mr Flores," the maître d' replied and left the table.

"Are you okay eating outside?" Carlos asked. "I can have us moved inside if you prefer."

"No, no, I'm fine. It's a lovely warm day," Amy replied. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach with her nerves. But she couldn't decide if she was nervous because she was on a con or because he was being considerably charming.

"Are you sure? You look a little tense." Carlos looked at her with concern.

"Oh, no. I'm fine really. I just have things on my mind. With my father and everything." She shook her head and waved it off as if it didn't matter.

"Oh, I was worried it might have been me." Carlos smiled but then quickly added, "You're having problems with your father - care to share?"

Amy sighed a deep breath out. This would help distract her nerves. And laying the bait would then mean it was over and done with, as Carlos had just produced the perfect opportunity for her. Her anxiety had grown with the thought of trying to slip it into the conversation without seeming obvious.

"I'm worried my father's taken a bit of a gamble. Moving to the west that is. He's had to pull a lot of capital out of the business for the expansion." Carlos nodded and remained silent, allowing her to continue. She liked how he did actually listen. "I'm just worried that if it doesn't take off, it'll fail. He's taking a bigger risk than he's really letting on. I'm sure of it."

"I'm sure your father has a great head for business. He seemed to, last night," Carlos said in a reassuring tone.

"I know, I know. If it takes off, the company will almost double its turnover. I'm just a born worrier, I suppose," Amy said, trying to make her expression match her words as she spoke. She thought about getting some acting lessons from Hannibal after this case, doubting she was looking convincing enough. "And I certainly don't want to ruin lunch with you."

"You won't." He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. She smiled back to look as if she appreciated the reassurance.

The waiter returned to take their order. Amy allowed Carlos to order for her, as he seemed to know the menu so well.

The lunch passed successfully. To Amy's surprise their conversation flowed easily without uncomfortable silences. Amy tried to let Carlos speak as much as possible so that she didn't have to. It would only be lies and the less she told the better she felt. If she had to speak of things, she tried to keep it as close to the truth as possible so that she didn't slip up in her deceit. Face had taught her that much.

Carlos told Amy things she already knew about him through her research, but she still found it interesting coming from him personally. It added a personality and depth to her findings. She tried to act as if she hadn't heard the information before and asked more questions, as a good reporter knew how to do. She was making mental notes because if this story did go to press, she needed to remember everything. Carlos also told her things that her research hadn't which she found even more fascinating, especially as he was making her laugh.

"Well, my father is Italian," explains the dark features, Amy thought as Carlos spoke, "and apparently he dishonoured a girl. The wrong girl by the sounds of things, as her father threatened him. Apparently he was in with the mafia or something, and so just before the war, my father fled the country and found himself in America," Carlos stopped to sip his champagne and then he continued. "And well, of course, he fell in love with an American woman, and married her. And as they say, the rest is history."

"Wow, sounds like one of those great stories to tell the grandchildren," Amy chuckled. "Your father chased out of his country by the mafia." The butterflies had gone, she felt totally at ease with Carlos.

"Yes, yes," Carlos laughed in return. "Whether the story is true or not is another thing. My father was good at telling tall stories, especially to my brother and I before he tucked us into bed at night."

Amy laughed again. "That's so sweet."

"But he _did_ marry an American woman," Carlos said light heartedly, as he summoned for the waiter. "So there was some truth in his story."

"Of course."

"Shall we go for a walk?" Carlos asked once he'd paid the bill.

"Yes, yes, that would be nice."

It wasn't long before they found themselves walking along the sandy beaches of Santa Monica. They headed for the pier where they found a suitable place to sit and talk. Amy was surprised how the conversation never dried up. Carlos was interesting; she didn't tire of listening to him. Her nerves seemed to be put at ease even though at the back of her mind she knew the real reason she was with Carlos. Becoming so relaxed in his company, every now and then she'd have to remind herself to put her reporter hat on and why she was with Carlos in the first place.

The conversation had naturally moved back to her father and his business, which she didn't mind as she knew she needed to keep laying the bait for Hannibal's plan.

"I'm intrigued. If you and your father have recently moved here to set up the business, why has this Glenn followed?"

Amy rolled her eyes. Good point, she thought.

"Because my father has made it worth his while to move with us. He's my father's right-hand man, I suppose. That's why my father tried to get us together," Amy replied hoping she was sounding believable. "This way, he thought the business could be run by Glenn, when he retired. Obviously doesn't think I'm damn well capable," Amy said the last comment angrily.

"Ah, I see," Carlos nodded. He seemed so understanding.

"Can you imagine? I'm trying to escape the creep, and my father insists on him tagging along?" Amy tried to sound frustrated about the situation. "But I think he's getting the message, slowly."

"Who? Your father or your ex?" Carlos chuckled.

"Both, I hope," Amy giggled in response. "But Carlos, I don't want to talk about Glenn. Let's not ruin a nice afternoon."

"Of course."

"But you can understand why I want to take things slow." As soon as she said those words, Amy realised she may have blundered assuming Carlos may want more than a couple of dates. But she wanted to make sure she didn't look like she was leading him on or it got to something she wasn't prepared to give too quickly. Would he expect sex so quickly? Some guys would after a couple of dates. "Sorry, I'm talking 'slow' in general. I'm not jumping to conclusions. You may never want to see me again."

Carlos turned towards her so he was looking straight into her eyes. "Of course I want to see you again. And I totally understand that you want to take things slowly." Amy tried not to show her sigh of relief. It had actually been Face that had suggested using the old ex-boyfriend routine to keep Carlos at a safe distance. He'd joked about 'how didn't girls use that excuse all the time?' But it seemed to be working.

If Murdock and BA were following Amy, she couldn't tell. She wasn't sure whether to be relieved about this or not. It either meant that they had lost her, or they were so good, Carlos wouldn't even realise she was being followed. Although she was actually starting to think that the whole idea was ridiculous. The guy wasn't going to harm her. He'd been so charming towards her; she actually couldn't imagine Carlos being involved in these underhand dealings with the companies. Not the Carlos she'd been with all afternoon. Maybe it's an associate of Carlos' causing the problems and he knows nothing about it. Or was she now being totally naïve? But it just didn't seem possible. Maybe he'll show his true colours soon enough.

Carlos slowly walked Amy back to the limousine that was waiting for her. Murdock was leaning against the car. Carlos gave a disapproving look at him, as if to say this was not the way he'd expect his chauffeur to act. Murdock instantly stood up straight and dusted down his suit, straightening himself out. Amy also gave him a disapproving look mainly because she was enjoying playing the boss, but also thought Carlos may expect her to.

"Well, thank you, Carlos, for a wonderful afternoon," Amy said, looking up into his bright blue eyes that stared back at her. She found herself transfixed in his gaze.

"The pleasure was all mine." He leaned in, cupping her cheek with his hand and gently kissed her. She closed her eyes as he did so and relaxed into the kiss. Momentarily she allowed his tongue to touch hers then realising Murdock was only a few feet away, she pulled away from his kiss. She flustered, fiddling with her purse.

"May I see you tomorrow?" He took hold of her hand, and kissed it.

"Er… of course," Amy replied nervously. The kiss had thrown her slightly but she tried to gather her senses.

"Good, I'll have my driver pick you up around seven."

"Yes, yes that would be lovely." She nodded at him totally forgetting that Murdock was supposed to drive her everywhere.

"Do I need to wear anything in particular?"

"Well," Carlos leaned in and whispered in her ear. His breath against her skin sent a pleasant sensation through her body. "I know what I would like you to wear, but I've promised to take things slow with you." Looking into his eyes, she could see mischief as he winked at her. He pulled away from her. "Wear something pretty, although I don't think you'll find that hard."

Amy looked down at the ground, feeling her cheeks flush and was sure it showed. No amounts of concealer could hide it. So she looked up and gave a gentle smile and then made her way to the limo, where Murdock opened the door for her. Just before getting into the vehicle, she turned towards Carlos. He was still watching her so she raised her hand and subtly waved back at him.

Once Murdock was in the driver's seat he wound down the window that separated them and turned to face her.

"Okay, chica?"

Amy nodded and gave a weak smile back to confirm, although she wasn't sure if it was convincing enough.

Murdock put his attention back to the road and drove off. He left the window down so that he could talk to Amy.

"Murdock, you think this is going to work?"

"Course it is, Hannibal's plans always work." Murdock glanced in his mirror to look at her. "They don't always go according to plan, but they do work." Could he see the doubt in her expression?

"But if he likes me, he's hardly going to destroy my father's company, is he?" This was something that had started to bug her as she'd sat with Carlos over lunch and he'd seemed so delightful. Far from the monster the team were leading her to believe.

"Amy, sweetheart, nothing personal but guys like Flores, they'll use you to get what they want. He'll wine and dine, and when it starts looking serious he'll get cold feet."

"Like Face, you mean," Amy snapped.

"Now, now." Murdock tutted at her. "You've provided the bait, right?"

"Yeah, but he didn't probe for it. I gave it to him willingly."

"Look, I'm no expert on the dating game, sweetheart. In the VA the closest I get to dining with anyone, let alone a girl, is in the cafeteria and that's only because we're not allowed food in our rooms." Murdock grinned at her through the mirror.

Amy laughed. Always loveable and fun, she thought, and where had he learnt to kiss like that stuck in the VA?

"Flores will date you a couple of times, to get the information he needs about the business we've created, and then you'll be history." Amy subtly shook her head. But how would she sound if she argued that Carlos had seemed so sincere towards her and had shown little interest in the Phillips' business.

"I'm just unsure it's working. Or whether Carlos is even behind all of this. That's my gut instinct, that's all."

"Trust me, muchacha, he's behind it alright," Murdock said. Could he see her doubts? "And you're doing a fine job as the roper. Usually Face would do it, but believe it or not, you're prettier than him." He gave her a cheeky expression through the mirror.

Amy rolled her eyes and smiled so he got the reaction he was looking for. "Okay, Murdock. I hope you are right." Thoughts of Carlos still raced through her mind as she brought her fingers gently to her lips. She wasn't sure she liked the deceit and where this would lead. If the guys are right, then maybe tomorrow will be the last date.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"This is perfect, Face." Hannibal had his arm around his Lieutenant's shoulders and was smoking a cigar as they looked at the warehouse. Hannibal had headed straight over from Joseph Keaton's office. He grinned as he watched BA already fixing the sign above the door, which read 'Phillips Services'.

As they stood outside admiring the newly acquired warehouse, a black limousine pulled up. Face and Hannibal both turned to watch as Amy and Murdock got out of the vehicle. They headed over to where Hannibal and Face were standing.

"Hi, kid, how'd it go with Flores?" Hannibal asked.

"Fine, I told him everything you wanted him to know," Amy replied, confidently smiling at him.

"You did good, kid," Hannibal said. He returned the smile and then turned his attention back to Face. "Now, shall we go inside?"

"Yeah, yeah. And it's just perfect inside too, Hannibal," Face cheerfully responded. As they started to walk, Hannibal threw the cigar aside.

"I've got an idea of how we can set up surveillance cameras," Face continued to talk about his ideas as they all walked into the warehouse, "and just over here I thought we could have the coffee machine, filtered of course," Face tapped Hannibal's arm as he spoke, "not one of those horrid vending machines."

Hannibal nodded as he put on his gloves, ready to get stuck into some hard work organising the place to make it look like an active office.

Inside the small warehouse were already a couple of desks, some chairs and boxes scattered about. In the back right-hand corner of the small warehouse was another room, which Face led Hannibal towards. It was the back office, which would be Hannibal's office for the scam. Murdock and Amy followed them in, equally intrigued to take a look around the new place.

"Not bad, Faceman, not bad," Murdock muttered as he walked around the office. Face just smiled and nodded at Murdock's comments.

"It's even got a back door for the perfect getaway if we need one, Hannibal." Face pointed to the door at the back of the smaller office they now stood in.

"We're not going to need to use it though, are we?" Amy asked. She sounded nervous, glancing from Face to Hannibal.

Hannibal chuckled. "You never know, kid. You never can tell."

BA came down from the ladder once he'd finished fixing the company sign above the door and joined the four of them inside the warehouse.

"Sign's fixed, Hannibal."

"Great work, BA. Heard anything on that bug Murdock put in yesterday evening?"

"There's bin some calls made, even one about Keaton's place, but they've all sounded legit. He wasn't giving anything away, Hannibal, as far as I could tell."

"Okay, keep listening. He's got to let us into something eventually. Face can run over the tapes later."

"Yeah. I've got it recording now so I can help with this place," BA said, nodding. He looked around the warehouse seeing how much work needed to be done. Furniture needed moving, boxes clearing, floor sweeping and a lick of paint on the walls. "Looks like you're gonna need me, too." BA frowned at Face, who held his hands up in protest.

"If you want to find a better place, BA. Be my guest."

Hannibal grinned as he watched BA shake his head and go out to collect some more gear from the van. His plan was shaping up nicely.

"Murdock, give us a hand with some of this stuff," Face said as he walked out of the office leaving Hannibal standing there admiring the room with Amy. "We'd better get a move on if we want it to look like an office."

"Yeah, let me get changed first, I don't want to ruin my suit." Hannibal could hear Murdock outside the office as the door swung shut.

Hannibal watched Amy walk around the office, brushing her hand along a single desk, which currently was the only piece of furniture in the small room. He could see she was impressed with how fast they'd worked to get this little business in operation. Could she feel the jazz starting to pump through her veins, just like he did?

"Are you impressed, Miss Allen?"

"Impressed," Amy replied catching his eye. "I'm overwhelmed. I'm just amazed how you guys have pulled this off so quickly." She broke the eye contact and looked around the whole room, like she was still absorbing information. "The place needs a bit of work, but it's really something."

"Well, when Face starts working his magic, there's usually no stopping him." Hannibal didn't move but intriguingly continued to watch her. "We didn't nickname him Face for nothing."

Amy laughed. "Yes, I've guessed that. No one can resist that smile." She approached Hannibal, watching him remove his gloves and place them on the desk. "Is this what it's like to be a member of the A-team? Is this the Jazz?"

Hannibal grinned, taking a cigar from his top pocket. "Yes. Yes it is, kid."

"You guys are really something, aren't you?" Amy moved closer towards him, studying only him.

"Yeah, we are." Hannibal reached into his jeans for a lighter. As he pulled it out. Amy gently took it off him and lit his cigar. He took a couple of puffs on the cigar to get it lit and then he grinned at her, cigar between his teeth. She playfully shook her head.

"And you guys won't do anything halfway, will you?" She leant against the desk, but continued to look him in the eye, not removing her gaze.

"No. No we won't." Hannibal leaned back on the desk and took a good look around his new office, puffing on his cigar, before glancing back at Amy. Her pretty face, still watching him, was made up more heavily than usual for Flores's benefit. A refreshing young face. Any other woman would probably run a mile or try to change them, and yet she seemed to accept them, for who they were. Really were. That's what he liked about her.

"Promise me something, Hannibal. If you ever have an urge to write a book, you'll let me do it. Because I bet you sure must have some stories to tell."

Hannibal thought for a moment, his gaze nowhere particular and then turned to face her, grinning. "Yeah, I sure do."

Amy gave a smirk as Hannibal held out his hand and she gently placed the lighter in it.

BA barged into the room, wheeling a filing cabinet on a trolley. "Where do ya want this, Hannibal?" Hannibal's gaze broke from Amy's, snatching away his hand that grasped the lighter and straightened up from leaning against the desk, as did Amy. BA wheeled the filing cabinet up beside the desk.

"Er, over there, BA. Up against that wall." He pointed to a corner of the room behind the desk and moved away from Amy, putting his gloves back on. BA put the cabinet against the wall as instructed and then walked out of the room, gently shaking his head and muttering something.

Hannibal cleared his throat. "I better give the guys a hand," he said to Amy, she nodded and he walked out into the warehouse where the rest of the team were already busy.

As Amy walked out of the room, following Hannibal, Murdock handed her a box. "Chica, can you just put that in there, please?"

"Sure." And she took the box off Murdock and was about to walk back into the small office. Hannibal watched her, impressed that the kid was prepared to get her hands dirty. But he could see Face wasn't happy. Amy was still wearing the outfit that she'd worn for her date with Flores earlier that day.

"Hey, hey, Amy. Watch the suit, sweetheart. It's got to go back to the store as if it's hardly been worn." Face rushed over and took the box off of her.

"Sorry! I was going to get changed, but Murdock handed me the box," Amy replied dusting down the suit, which made Face's nervous expression exaggerate further. "What?"

"Are your hands clean?" Face asked. "You'll be surprised about the amount of dust that gathers on boxes."

Amy rolled her eyes. "BA, is my bag in the van?"

"Yeah, why?" BA growled.

"I need to get changed."

Hannibal chuckled as he watched the banter. She wasn't afraid to do some hard work; he'd give her that. Maybe she'd do all right on the A-team after all.

* * *

Once the office was complete and the filter coffee machine plugged in, Amy made it her first duty to make the coffee, duly noting that BA drank milk. The five of them sat around the new offices of Phillips Services. There were four desks in the larger area, each with a telephone sat on the desk and filing trays and desk tidies to hold the stationery. A couple of the desks had word processors on them. On the door to the small office, there was a sign that read 'Mr. H. Phillips.'

"Are you sure this will work?" Amy asked as she sipped her coffee, amazed how they'd turned around an empty warehouse to look like a busy office. She'd fed Carlos the information that she even helped out in the office. But would he bite? "Is this business really going to be of interest to him?"

"Well, looking at Flores' company background, this is the perfect company for him to want to get his hands on, at least on paper," Face replied. "I've made sure of it." He grinned.

"But is it big enough?" Amy asked. She was still undecided about Carlos being involved.

"Actually, if it were too big, he wouldn't be interested. His company buys up the little businesses. It's easier to put pressure on the smaller companies. He just wouldn't be able to do it with a big corporate venture," Face answered.

"That's if it's Carlos putting the pressure on," Amy corrected him.

"Well, whoever it is," Face replied. He sounded convinced it could only be Flores. "They put the pressure on, so that Flores' company comes in and buys them out cheaply." Face sipped his coffee. "Not bad coffee by the way."

"Thanks," Amy smiled back.

"And he already has a buyer set up, a larger corporate company, all legal and above board. So this is why our Mr Flores looks so squeaky clean," Hannibal added. "It wouldn't surprise me if he finds the company to suit his buyers. What did it say in that file, Murdock?"

Murdock straightened up in the chair he had been leaning back in. "It just had some company details in it. GA Networks or something-."

"-GAN Networks Ltd." Amy interrupted Murdock.

"That's the one." Murdock winked at her. Amy returned it with a smile.

"Hannibal, it didn't look like there was anything in there than company figures, stats, that sort of thing. Maybe it's the next company Flores' corporation is intending to take over?" Amy continued.

"Face, find out what you can about GAN Networks." Hannibal turned to Face. "It might give us some clues. A trail to follow or something." Face nodded.

"But I can do that, Hannibal," Amy said.

"No, kid, Flores could be watching you. I don't want him to get suspicious."

Amy nodded and then rolled her eyes, still unconvinced Carlos would be following her. "Okay. Well then, Face, I've got a great contact, I'll give you their number."

"Thanks." He returned a smile.

"BA, anything on that bug?" Hannibal turned to BA, knowing he'd recently gone and checked on the bug.

"Nah. Not yet. Guys keeping it clean, Hannibal," BA replied after he'd finished his milk and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Okay, well keep listening. He's got to give something away sooner or later." BA nodded and Hannibal looked at Amy. "And when's your next date with Flores, kid?"

"He's asked to see me again tomorrow night," Amy replied.

"Great," Hannibal grinned.

"It's only a couple of dates, right, Hannibal?" Amy said quickly, unable to hide her nervous tone. Anxiety was trying to eat away at her again. She calmed herself with a deep breath. "It's just I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking this much further."

"I know, kid. But I shouldn't worry; Flores is the kind of guy who'll only want a few dates."

"Yeah, Murdock said the same."

"Once he's got the information he needs, he'll ditch you and start working on me and the business." With a cigar in his mouth, Hannibal had a smile on his face. "You know, BA, Face gave me an idea earlier."

"I did?"

"Yeah, I think this warehouse needs something else."

"Okay, man, whatever you say," BA said, shaking his head. "Man, he's on the jazz again."

tbc...


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Bright and early the next morning, after a light breakfast, Face headed over to the warehouse. He'd rented out a white van that he intended to make deliveries with, or at least make it look that way. Yesterday afternoon he'd managed to put the transfers reading 'Phillips Services' on the sides and taken the vehicle out for a drive. Hoping it may draw some attention.

"Why don't we just fill 'em with scrap metal?" BA had argued as he'd helped Face to fill the boxes that night.

"Because, BA, we need them to believe they are stealing something worth of value, at least to our business anyway," Face had replied. BA had just scowled and continued to load up the boxes. Face had managed to find some equipment that suited their fake company at a very reasonable price.

Face had decided that computer sales and support services were the Phillips's chosen business. Knowing that the market was increasing all the time, it was certainly something that would catch Flores's eye. And the nature of the business meant that Face, whilst out and about, could look as if he was delivering new equipment as well as servicing old. Although the equipment he'd found may have been reasonably priced, there was only so much Face was prepared to purchase for this case. Especially if it meant it was going to be stolen.

Face and BA had loaded the van that night, allowing an opportunity for someone to take the equipment.

Now approaching the van, he could see that it hadn't been tampered with and its contents still remained. Same as the warehouse, nothing had been touched.

Face sighed upon seeing the boxes. It meant he'd have to do the deliveries after all. "Ah well," he said to himself, placing a baseball cap on his head and jumping into the front seat of the van. "Here goes nothing."

* * *

After a morning of deliveries, Face's rumbling stomach made him look at his watch. He'd been travelling around for nearly three hours, and though it wasn't quite lunchtime, decided the first convenient roadside diner was going to be his next stop before heading back to the warehouse. 

"Hannibal, I'm going to head back into town. It's awfully lonely out here," Face spoke into the walkie-talkie. He'd kept radio contact with Hannibal all morning. So they could keep a track of each other, Murdock had done the same while out with Amy confirming their movements. It was just a precaution. If anything did go down, they could quickly contact the rest of the team for backup. "I'm going to stop off and get some lunch. Do you want me to bring you anything back?"

"Yeah, some sandwiches would be great," Hannibal replied over the radio. "BA was just moaning how hungry he was." Face heard a light-hearted chuckle in Hannibal's tone.

After driving for a couple more minutes, Face spotted a diner where he could get takeout food. Despite the nearly empty parking lot, he parked and locked up the van just around the corner in a secluded back street and headed into the diner.

Twenty minutes later, Face pushed open the diner's door, holding the bag of take out. There was a smell of smoke in the air that he hadn't noticed before. It was an unpleasant smell, a mixture of plastic, oil and rubber. He quickened his pace and as he walked toward the street where he'd parked the van, his eyes widened with horror.

"Oh no, not the van, not the goddamn van," Face groaned angrily as he ran towards the van. Black smoke billowed from underneath it. "Damn it, you're supposed to take the stock." He'd deliberately left the van on the side street to offer an opportunity for someone to hit the van. He hadn't expected them to set fire to it. "The van cost more than the damn stock. Oh boy."

Through the smoke, Face noticed someone standing too close for comfort near the van. He instantly dropped the bag he was carrying and ran towards the van, feeling its heat and ignoring it.

"Lady!" Face shouted. She stared at the blaze but wasn't aware of the imminent danger she was in. She started to step backwards from it, her gaze still fixed on the van. Face sprinted as fast as he could past the van and dived for her just as the van exploded. The blast sent the pair of them back a few more feet. As they fell, Face put a hand on the back of the woman's head to protect her as they landed. He winced as he felt the hard blacktop against his knuckles.

He raised his head and mentally shook himself down checking for broken bones. There weren't any, just bruises and grazes that hurt like hell.

"Sorry, I'm really not having a good day," Face said, staring into the young woman's shocked eyes. He tried to give her his best smile to ease her terrified expression. He'd landed on top of her in a very compromising position. He lifted himself up, his weight on his hands and knees, and as quickly as his bruised body would allow, stood and dusted himself off. Shakily he held out his hand to help her up. The adrenalin and shock surged through his body. She still didn't say anything as she took his hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes," she finally replied, obviously still shaken. Her eyes stared over his shoulder. In the corner of his eye he could see what she was seeing, the burning van. "My god, I just stood there, like a complete idiot." She took her eyes off the van and looked straight into his. Face could see that she was starting to tremble, the shock now taking hold of her body.

"Hey." Face did what only came natural to him, especially when a woman was involved and took her in his arms and held her. He gave a weak smile that she could no longer see. "You're okay. It's amazing what fear does to some people. You didn't know it was going to explode," he said trying to reassure her.

"Thanks," the woman replied and then stepped out of Face's hold. Probably uneasy about hugging a complete stranger, he thought. But then she coyly smiled, noticing his handsome face. "Was that your van?"

Face turned to look at the van, now completely on fire and irretrievable. Face frowned and let out a deep sigh. "Yes, it was."

* * *

"Kid, the idea was for them to steal the stock, not to set fire to it." Hannibal sat in his office watching Face pace in front of him. 

"How the hell was I supposed to know they were going to set fire to it?" Face stopped pacing and angrily tapped his index finger on the desk as he spoke. "I left it long enough they could take the stock. It was out of the way, not too busy. It was perfect." Face started to pace again. BA leant against the filing cabinet watching the pair of them.

"Obviously," Hannibal replied. "You'll just have to get another van, Face."

"Another van!" Face angrily replied. He stopped pacing and looked Hannibal straight in the eye. "Hannibal, we might as well set fire to a pile of hundred dollars bills as rent another van, damn it!"

Hannibal looked over at BA, who had until this point remained quiet.

"Don't even think about it sucker!" BA growled, screwing his face up.

"I didn't say anything, BA."

"You didn't have to, Hannibal. I ain't giving my van to Faceman so he can get it burnt." BA forcefully pulled the door open and left Hannibal's office, letting the door slam behind him.

"Hey, watch my door!" Hannibal shouted and then turned back to Face. "The van will be covered under insurance, won't it?"

* * *

Amy left Murdock outside cleaning the limousine. As she entered the warehouse, BA was walking out of Hannibal's office, the door slamming behind him. She could hear raised voices inside, and the atmosphere all around could be cut with a knife. BA had a scowl on his face. Something hadn't pleased him. 

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Faceman and Hannibal having a slight disagreement," BA said as he sat down at a desk and started to work on a piece of equipment. BA shook his head. "Officers."

"You guys don't really stick to all that rank stuff now, do you?" Amy laughed and looked at BA. He raised his head and made eye contact. Her expression changed immediately.

"Yeah," BA growled.

"Oh, I just thought that now you are not technically in the army," Amy trailed off. "I understand that Hannibal is the leader, but I just thought you and Face were like, er," she shrugged her shoulders, "equal."

"We work as a team, like we did in Nam. That's why it works. If Hannibal's gone, Face is in command," BA replied. "Got it?"

Amy nodded. "Loud and clear." BA still had a scowl on his face. She hadn't thought she might have to take orders from Face. She'd accepted it from Hannibal, but had never considered Face.

Amy's attention was pulled from BA to Face, who walked out of the office, also allowing the door to slam shut. Amy watched in disbelief and moved out of his path. He didn't look at anyone; just kicked a trashcan out of his path as he left the warehouse. She silently let out a deep breath and rolled her eyes.

The office door opened once again and Amy turned towards it. "What's up with Face?" she asked, seeing Hannibal now leaning against the doorframe to his office. He'd also watched Face leave the building.

"Ah, nothing. He's had a bad morning, that's all."

"Gees, hate to see him have a whole bad day." She turned back to watch Face talking to Murdock by the limo. He was absently kicking at one of the wheels as they spoke. How could they be shouting at each other one minute and acting like nothing happened the next?

"What time are you meeting Flores tonight, kid?" Hannibal asked, drawing her attention back to him.

"Seven."

"Right. Well, we've been hit. So make sure he knows about it and that I'm not happy."

Amy nodded again. She knew the exact message she'd have to give to Carlos. "Got it."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Amy stood in her closet looking at all of the clothes Face had provided her. Carlos had said wear something pretty. She stood there, thinking about the research she'd done on him. What did he like to do? Where was a man like Carlos likely to take her?

All morning she'd been thinking about this, whilst sat in a beauty salon Face had recommended, having a luxury manicure.

"All for the eyes of Flores, kid," Hannibal had said. Amy had tried not to roll her eyes.

With a couple of boutique bags in her hands, she'd walked the busy streets of Santa Monica, acting out the supposed life of Amy Phillips. Murdock had been with her the whole time, chauffeuring her around. She wasn't sure if it was necessary. Was Carlos really watching her or were the guys overreacting?

Now she flicked through the clothes in her closet undecided on what to wear. Carlos would be here in an hour. She tutted to herself, trying to get use to the feeling of her new nails, the damn things.

She was brought back into the world of reality with a knock at her door. She sighed and, hanging the current dress back in the closet, went to the door.

Amy looked through the peephole to see a bellboy holding flowers. She was stunned when she opened the door - the peephole really hadn't done the flowers justice.

"Miss Phillips."

"Er," Amy stared at the flowers. "Yes."

"These are for you."

"Oh, thank you." She took the flowers from the bellboy. "Oh, wait a minute." Amy quickly went to her purse and grabbed a ten-dollar bill, then came back to the door and gave it to the bellboy, who smiled back at her.

"Thank you, Ma'am." Amy gave a smile back at the bellboy and then closed the door. She smelt the bouquet pretty pink flowers. Amy hurriedly opened the card that had come with the flowers.

'Can't wait to see you tonight, Carlos.'

Amy's heart skipped a beat. The flowers had been unexpected but now they were here, she couldn't help but think the guys were definitely being paranoid. For someone who was only going to be interested in a couple of dates and then dump her, Carlos seemed to be pretty serious, sending flowers like these.

There was another knock at her door. Forgetting herself, she didn't bother with the peephole and just opened the door.

"Face." He leant casually against the doorframe. Baseball cap removed, all cleaned up from this morning's misfortune and wearing a smart beige suit.

"Nice flowers," he said as he walked in.

"Thanks," Amy replied, starting to close the door. "Calmed down from this morning, have we?"

"Yeah, yeah, water under the bridge."

"Miss Phillips," someone called out. She poked her head out to see the same bellboy walking towards her. He was carrying another large bunch of flowers, red roses.

"Oh, my." Amy felt her cheeks flush and took the roses from him.

"Someone likes you, Miss Phillips," the bellboy said. "Would you like me to fetch you a vase?"

"Oh, please," Amy replied. Struggling with her hands full of flowers, she looked at Face and he took a bouquet from her.

"Twenty four red roses, huh?" Face took the card and opened it as Amy shut the door on the bellboy. "P.S. wear something pretty."

"Face!" She glared at him, burning holes into him with her eyes. Then noticing his actions she frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Checking for bugs," Face said, placing the flowers on the table and opening them up. With his fingers he carefully spread the flowers out so they lay flat and thumbed through them.

"What?"

"And I'm not talking about the six legged kind either."

Amy shook her head in disbelief. Face then gestured for the other bunch of flowers and she reluctantly handed them to him.

"Well, the guy is smooth, got to hand it to him," Face said as he started to undo the second bouquet. Amy looked up to the ceiling and tutted in frustration.

"But it means it's working, isn't it? Carlos has fallen for me, for the scam, I mean."

"Yeah, he's fallen for the scam by the looks of things." Face continued to study the flowers as if not taking much notice of Amy.

"This is how it works then, is it?" Amy felt she needed reassurance. "I mean, when you work a scam, it feels like this, does it? The flowers don't mean anything, right?" She asked nervously. What if Carlos was really falling for her, for Amy Phillips? She unconsciously shook her head. No, not possible. The guys had to be right about this, surely? He was flattering her to get information.

"No, not from a guy like Flores." Face left both bouquets on the table, placing the card he'd read next to them. "Sorry, kid."

"I'm not bothered," Amy said quickly, hoping that it sounded convincing enough. "So were there any bugs?"

"No, the flowers are clean."

Amy smiled; maybe I'm more right about Carlos than they think. "So why are you here, exactly?"

"Hannibal said to come check on you," Face replied. "Rather glad, Murdock is making BA cranky. I needed to get out of our suite." Amy watched as he started to walk towards her bedroom. "So, how was the manicure?"

"Fine thanks, thought I'd better have one. Didn't want Carlos thinking I worked hard for a living," Amy said, following him. "Sherrie says hi by the way."

"Sherrie?"

"Face! She's the blonde bombshell that looks like a life size Barbie doll. Only dates guys called Ken," Amy said with a hint of sarcasm, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, _Cherie_," Face said, looking as if he was recalling the girl in question and smiled. "Sweet girl." Amy rolled her eyes. She watched as Face headed for the closet, which didn't please her. "Nails look nice by the way."

"You noticed my nails?" Amy said in disbelief, looking at her nails, beautifully French manicured and false, and then quickly followed Face into the closet. "The nails are great. But I don't know how anyone works with them. They'll have to be removed when I go back to work." She kept on looking at them as it they were alien to her hands and resisted the urge to tap them against hard surfaces, which she'd been advised not to do.

"Why's that?" Face still flicked through the clothes in her closet not really paying much attention to Amy.

"Because these," Amy held her newly manicured nails in front of her, "and typewriters just don't mix. So remind me, Face, why are you going through my closet, exactly?"

"Wear something pretty, he said," Face muttered, saying the statement more to himself than to Amy. "Huh? I thought you might want some advice on what to wear tonight."

Amy, in disbelief, watched Face flicking through the outfits in her closet. "You know, Face, if I didn't know you any better, I'd almost think you were gay." Face looked up, expressionless. "Well, with your 'this will fit', 'this will look great', 'I know a great manicurist', 'wear something pretty'," Amy shrugged. "But, luckily in the short time that I have known you, I've seen enough bombshells on your arm, including _Cherie_, to know that you're not."

"Amy, there I was, worried you might be bored or something. Thought you'd probably be nervous about another date with Flores, worried about what to wear. The usual woman thing. So I thought I'd come along and give you my expert advice, and what do I get? Insults."

Amy momentarily looked away from him, feeling guilty for mocking him. "Okay, thank you, Face. But I can work out what to wear for myself."

"Where's he taking you?"

"I don't know."

"Right, well he said wear something pretty, so," Face pulled out a dress from the closet. Nothing too formal or informal but it was pretty. It would suit all occasions. Amy rolled her eyes. Now she wanted to tap those nails against something hard.

"How do you do that?"

* * *

It was seven o'clock precisely, she'd checked her watch, when the limousine arrived. Rather than be presumptuous she waited for the driver to come into the hotel lobby and ask for her. 

Hannibal hadn't been overly happy about the arrangement but to avoid suspicion put in place his own surveillance. Amy was to still carry the tracking device in her purse, and Murdock and Face would follow her in a rental car each.

Amy stepped into the limousine, and to her surprise found Carlos sat in the back. She'd gotten the impression that he was just sending his driver over to collect her. He nodded to her; he was talking to someone on the phone.

"Wesley, I'll let you take care of it," Carlos said, smiling at Amy as she sat opposite him. "That's what I pay you for. Now I've got to go, my very important dinner date," Carlos winked at Amy, "has just arrived." Carlos hung up the phone and turned his attention to her. "Hello, Amy. So you got the flowers then?"

"Carlos," Amy replied, blushing. "So where are you taking me? I've been thinking about this all day."

"Ah, you'll have to wait and see." Amy grinned and tried to hide her nervousness. Her heart was beating faster, a mixture of nerves and excitement. Should she feel nervous that he wasn't telling her anything? Her intuition told her Carlos is just a romantic full of surprises, and to stop worrying.

"Your father's all right with us dating isn't he?" Carlos asked as the limo pulled off.

"Yes, yes. Why?" Amy frowned. The butterflies in her stomach started to flutter again, with nerves.

"I thought I saw him in the hotel reception, just then."

"Did you?" Amy tried to hide her nerves with laughter. "Oh you know what he's like, protective of his only daughter?" Amy hadn't even noticed Hannibal in the lobby, so what was he playing at?

Carlos winked. "Of course, why wouldn't he be?" He reached across and squeezed her hand. "Maybe I should talk to him, reassure him."

"No, no. There's no need, Carlos. I'll talk to him." Carlos nodded, seeming happy with her response.

After only a short journey, the limousine came to a stop and the door opened. Carlos stepped out first and then held out his hand for Amy. They were at an old theatre.

"I thought we might catch a movie."

"A movie?"

"Yes, is that all right?"

"Of course." Amy happily smiled, studying the old building. Butterflies were at bay, she now felt at ease with Carlos.

The place was particularly quiet, Amy noticed, as they walked into the foyer.

Carlos walked straight up to the attendant behind the ticket desk.

"Good evening, Mr Flores. Matthew will show you to your seats."

"Sir, please follow me this way."

Carlos slipped his hand around Amy's waist and they followed the attendant. Matthew led them up a short flight of stairs and along a corridor until they came to a set of doors. Opening them, the attendant switched on his flashlight and escorted them into a dimly lit theatre, showing them to their seats. "Are these all right, sir?"

"They are fine." Carlos nodded in approval.

Amy looked around. Of course they were fine, they had the best seats in the theatre. Right in the middle. There was something odd that Amy couldn't quite put her finger on until they sat down. They were the only two in the theatre.

"I thought you'd like the place to yourself." Carlos took hold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Well this way, we do avoid the rowdy teenagers at the back," Amy giggled. Carlos responded with a laugh too and then his face looked serious.

"And I would like you all to myself." Amy blushed and felt speechless. Carlos was being so sweet, actually, sickeningly romantic.

"Are you ready, Mr Flores?" a voice called from the back of the theatre.

"Yes, Eddie, run the movie," Carlos called back. The lights dimmed in the theatre and the curtains opened across the screen.

"I've seen this movie a hundred times, but I love it so much, I never get bored with it." Carlos whispered into her ear as the film started to roll.

It was a black and white movie, the film title flicked up, 'Notorious', and actors names Amy recognised; Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Raines. But she hadn't seen the movie herself.

Through the movie, Carlos held her hand, and every now and then she would catch him looking at her. A couple of times he kissed her on her neck sending goose bumps on the backs of her arms and neck. She couldn't stop her body responding to his touch. Was it fear though, making her react that way?

Because as the story unfolded Amy worried it was a test that Carlos was on to her. He knew that she was a spy, Hannibal's spy. Or did Carlos think she was a spy for him? In her mind, she told herself she was just being paranoid. As she glimpsed at Carlos, and watched the movie, she could see Carlos really did just love the movie. With his laughter at the fun parts and he'd squeeze her hand through the sad moments. The choice of movie was just coincidence, she nervously hoped.

After the movie, as they emerged from the theatre, the limo was waiting for them outside. The chauffeur opened the door for them.

"Did you enjoy the movie?" Carlos was the first to speak once inside the limo.

"Yes, I did. I hadn't seen it before." She looked him in the eye, hoping to catch a hint of anything.

"I always think Devlin was a fool to allow Alicia to marry Sebastian," Carlos said and then laughed. "It gets me every time, that one."

Amy smiled as she watched Carlos, the nerves she'd been feeling earlier, ebbed away.

"My mother's to blame, she introduced me to Alfred Hitchcock," Carlos continued. "And I've been hooked ever since."

Another short journey and they arrived at a small restaurant. All of the circular tables were decorated with candles and little vases with red flowers. Amy instantly noticed the romantic feel to the place. An ideal setting for couples or lovers to comfortably dine.

Amy's heart started to beat nervously faster again. Carlos was really trying to impress her. Was this all just to get information? Or had he really fallen for her? But she couldn't believe that either. The man could have any woman he wanted, why would he be satisfied with her?

As the evening wore on, Amy relaxed back into talking with Carlos. Her worries about the choice of film forgotten, she found herself fascinated, wanting to know more about him. It would make a good back-story and if the guys were totally wrong about him, she'd need something to give her editor. And a tiny bit of her wanted to know for her own reasons.

"Tell me some more about Carlos Flores." Amy sipped at her third glass champagne and was starting to feel the alcohol go to her head.

"What do you want to know?" He looked her straight back in her eyes. They looked sincere.

"Why isn't there a Mrs Flores?" She rested her hand on his arm. "Such a great catch like you, I just don't understand it." Amy realised she sounded flirtatious. Maybe she was flirting? But she had to be careful otherwise things could speed up faster than intended.

"Maybe I haven't met the right woman, yet." Carlos took her hand and kissed it. "Although I'm starting to think-"

"Carlos, it's only been a few dates." Amy laughed trying to cover her embarrassment. Now he is starting to sound like he's after something.

"And I want to have many more with you, Amy." He didn't look away from her face.

"Really?" Amy broke the eye contact, emptying her champagne glass a little too quickly.

* * *

"Face." 

"Yes, Murdock," Face replied sharply over the radio, rolling his eyes. He was parked a couple of blocks up from Murdock, who was watching Flores and Amy. The radio banter was starting to tire him. Murdock hadn't shut up for most of the evening. The only time he'd had semi-intelligent conversation, was when they'd followed the limo and just radioed directional instructions to one another.

"He's really working on Amy, you know," Murdock said, sat in his rental car. "Flores has now taken her to some fancy little restaurant."

"Well of course he's working on her, he wants information. What's it called?" The walkie-talkie crackled after Face let go of the button.

"No, no, I think it's more than that. What's what called?"

"Murdock," Face started to sound irritated. "What's the restaurant called?"

"Oh. Little Italy."

"Nice place," Face raised an eyebrow. "I haven't been there myself, but I've heard the food is good." Face rested his head back on the seat and thought of his favourite Italian food; he could eat right now. Amy wasn't doing too badly as the roper. Flores was definitely taking her to some very fancy places.

"Face!"

"What?" Face snapped back in return, sitting back up.

"I'm worrying about Amy, and you're babbling on about how damn good the food is."

"Murdock, Amy's fine. And I'm not babbling." He was definitely losing patience now.

"Yes, you are." Murdock replied much to Face's annoyance. "I just think Flores has fallen for her, that's all. Just little things that he does."

"Murdock, for heaven's sake. It's only been a few dates. How the hell can you tell?"

"Because I know all right."

"You know?"

"I know obsessive behaviour when I see it." Murdock snapped back.

Face rolled his eyes again. Don't ask. You'll be here for hours otherwise. "Murdock, I want radio silence from now on."

"But why? I'm lonely." Murdock sounded sad.

Because I'm sick of your wittering, Face thought, brushing a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself. "Murdock, because I said so!"

* * *

The limousine arrived outside the City Skye Hotel. Amy wanted to sigh with relief as the driver opened her door. Safe ground. She'd enjoyed the evening, more than expected. Who wouldn't? The romantic setting of a theatre all to yourself and a cosy Italian restaurant. But there was this pang of worry inside of her; a little voice, an alarm sounding off telling her this was getting serious, intense. Something she hadn't been prepared for. 

She was just getting out of the limo when Carlos grabbed her hand, making her turn back towards him.

"Amy, when can I see you again?" he asked, his eyes searching hers. "Tomorrow maybe?" Unsure what expression she must have given, his own expression gave a concerned look and he quickly added, "Or have you got something on?"

"No, no, I think I'm free."

"I've got business to attend to during the day, but we could have dinner at mine."

Carlos still kept hold of her hand, as if reluctant to let it go. His thumb was gently stroking the back of her hand.

"Sure, what time?"

"Around seven," Carlos replied. "I can get my driver to-"

"No, no, I'll get my driver to drop me off." Amy interrupted him. She instantly worried how that may have sounded. She lived in fear she was going to give something away. "My father will probably insist."

Carlos nodded in agreement. Amy went to kiss him on his cheek but he turned his head, deliberately she noticed, and her lips landed on his. She blushed and gave a gentle tap on his shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow," she giggled.

The chauffeur shut the door as Amy walked off. But the sound of a window being wound down made her conscious that she was being watched. She turned and waved at Carlos, who waved back, before she walked through the large glass doors into the hotel lobby. Once out of sight inside the elevator, she let out a deep sigh. This is turning into more than a couple of dates.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Hey," Amy said as she entered the warehouse. It had been a couple of days since she'd been there. "That wall didn't use to be there." It was the first thing she noticed. The four men stopped what they were doing and turned instinctively to look. Whereas Hannibal's office used to be in the right-hand corner of the warehouse, it now seemed to stretch across the entire back of the building.

Murdock walked over and removed a large mirror that hung on the new wall.

"Ta da," he said, revealing the window of a secret room with a video camera set up in it. "The big guy and I rigged it up the other day. You like it?"

"It's great, Murdock," Amy replied sarcastically. "Are we making movies now?" She watched Murdock replaced the mirror.

"Yeah, I figured we might need to gather some hard evidence," Hannibal said, walking over and placing a hand on Murdock's shoulder.

"That's if the office will get hit." Amy plonked herself at a desk that had a typewriter sat on it. She stretched her fingers over the keys as if ready to type, realising how much she missed her desk back at the office.

"Oh, it'll get hit, just a matter of when," Hannibal said confidently.

"Just as long as they don't set fire to it." Face mumbled in the background, receiving a frown from Hannibal in response.

* * *

"Amy, it's for show. You are not supposed to use it," Face said, placing a cup of coffee on her desk. Amy was prising apart three of the typewriter's letter arms.

"I know, I know, I was just seeing if it could work," Amy let out a frustrated sigh. "But you are right, it doesn't work. It keeps on sticking." She looked up at him, but Face's attention was elsewhere. He was looking out their front window.

"Hannibal," Face said, pointing to the two cars that had pulled up, watching six men get out. "It looks like we've got company."

"At last." Hannibal put his feet up on the desk he sat at and grinned. "Amy, you'd better go in my office."

Amy nervously looked at the six men heading towards the warehouse and then nodded to Hannibal. As she approached the office, BA pushed opened the door for her. She smiled gratefully at him, and he gave her a wink back. He then allowed the door to close behind her and stood in front of it, crossing his arms.

"Is that camera rolling, Murdock?" Hannibal asked as he started to put on his black leather gloves.

"Sure is, Colonel." Murdock quickly put back the mirror on the wall.

"Okay, team, let's not make this a walk in the park for them, but we do need to let them win." Hannibal looked at his three men and they all nodded as they made themselves look busy.

The six men, all wearing business suits, confidently entered the warehouse. Hannibal looked up, removing his feet from the desk and sat up straight in his chair.

The first man, tall and stocky with short red hair, leant forward on the desk Hannibal was sitting at and gave a cold smile.

"Looking for a Mr Phillips," he said firmly, aggression in his tone.

"You found him." Hannibal smiled, ignoring the antagonistic approach, held out his hand but the man refused to shake it. "Er, how can I help you fellas?" Hannibal withdrew his hand.

"We've come to give you a message."

"What message?" Hannibal asked naively, putting on his best nervous expression and trying very hard to keep a grin off of his face.

"This message." With one swipe of his arm, the redheaded man shoved everything off Hannibal's desk. Hannibal flinched back as he did so.

"Now that's not very nice," Hannibal said standing up from the desk. The other five men followed their leader's example, throwing equipment on to the floor, emptying files of paperwork and tipping up desks.

"Hey!" Face shouted, stopping one man from dumping a bookshelf. Murdock quickly chose his own opponent, running straight at him. BA screwed up his face and grabbed his first man. Hannibal stuck with the redheaded goon. Each of them were ducking blows and throwing punches.

Amy stood in the small office and kept a watchful eye through the little square window in the door. She winced as Face got hit in the gut.

"Yes!" she whispered, as Face dived back at his opponent, sending his man to the floor. Hannibal seemed to be holding his own with the redheaded man. Amy gasped watching the melee. There was a crack. Face landed on a desk, breaking it in half. BA grabbed Face's opponent and threw him aside, so that Face could recover. The office was being quickly destroyed.

Suddenly, Amy let out a cry and flinched away from the door. Murdock was thrown against the door by two men, landing with a loud thump. Dazed, he got up nevertheless and made a dive for the nearest man.

Amy jumped away from the door again. A face suddenly appeared at the window, smirking at her. Oh shit, she thought, backing away from the door. With the brawl going on in the warehouse, the man made his way into the office unnoticed.

"Hey, peaches, let's see how papa likes it when we've got his girl."

Heart racing, Amy scrambled backwards, grabbing anything she could lay her hands on from the desk, files, a stapler, a pot of pens, and threw it in the man's direction. "Get away from me you moron." But it didn't deter him. She ran behind the desk, putting the desk between her and the moron.

Amy let out a shrill scream.

BA immediately turned towards the back office realising Amy was in trouble. A punch caught him off guard. He shook his head and screwed up his face. The guy tried punching him again, but BA blocked it and growled angrily. "No time for this sucker," BA said, punching his opponent's jaw. The guy's eyes rolled back and he fell slumped against a wall, out cold. BA stepped over the unconscious guy, fists clenched and scowling, making his way to the back office.

"Hey, sucker," BA growled. The goon momentarily took his attention off of Amy. Her scared expression showed some relief upon seeing BA. The goon hastily reached over the desk, one last attempt to grab Amy. She jumped back and squealed again. He didn't even get close. BA ran towards him, like a charging bull, both hands grabbing the man by his collar. BA quickly turned the man to face him, raising his feet off the ground. His face in close and scowling, "I don't like suckers that disrespect women."

BA didn't risk wasting any time. He let go with one hand, the man's feet touched the ground and BA punched him out cold. Amy flinched as he did so. Angrily, BA let go of the unconscious man, allowing him to drop to the floor.

Softening his expression, BA turned his attention to Amy. "You okay, little mama?"

Amy nodded, dumbfounded, and walked towards him, stepping over the office debris.

"I said I'd watch your back." BA winked. "I won't let them suckers hurt you."

"Thanks, BA." Amy gave a fearful smile. She momentarily glanced at the unconscious man on the floor. Her eyes looked watery but had no tears. BA gave a smile, the rare smile that not many people got to see. Amy's smile widened in response but her voice was still shaky. "He just appeared at the door, scared the crap out of me."

BA's smile quickly turned into a scowl, his focus returning to the goon on the floor. He leant down and grabbed the man by his collar. "You stay here, Amy, while we finish this off," BA said firmly, almost back to his usual growl. He pulled the door open and walked back out into the warehouse, dragging the goon with him.

"This is a message, Phillips. Sell up. Your business doesn't belong here," the redheaded man said as he knelt beside a winded Hannibal.

The fighting had finished. As the redheaded man started to stand up, BA threw the unconscious man towards the leader and scowled, punching a fist into his other hand. One man hesitantly thought about taking him on, but BA just glared at him. The redheaded man put a hand on his shoulder to gesture that he leave it. None of the other men attempted to get close to him. BA was the last of the team standing but the goons seemed satisfied that they had succeeded.

The redheaded man just smirked and then walked out of the warehouse. The other five men dusted themselves down and left the warehouse. Although, the two men still concussed from fighting BA had to be helped out.

"Oh, boy." Face groaned next to Murdock rubbing his jaw as Amy came out of the office.

"Well, we did have to let them win," Hannibal said standing up and nursing a cut lip with the back of his hand.

"Just, why does letting them win always have to hurt as much as if they'd actually won?" Face moaned, catching his breath back. "Huh?" He dug Murdock in the ribs with his elbow. Murdock winced.

"It doesn't hurt." Murdock falsely grinned.

"Face, Murdock, follow those guys and see which stone they crawl under." Hannibal helped Face up, watching the bad guys get into their cars. Both men nodded.

"Right, Colonel," Murdock said, springing back into action as if ignoring any pain he was in. Face and Murdock quickly left the warehouse to follow the cars. Hannibal turned to Amy who had started to clear up the office.

"Amy, did you recognise any of those men? Have you seen them with Flores?"

Amy stood there, wanting to give him the answer he needed to hear but she couldn't. "No, sorry, Hannibal. I haven't seen any of those men before. But I got a good look at most of them, so I'll keep a look out."

"Okay, kid." Hannibal nodded. He took his glove off and dabbed his lip with his fingers.

"You let them win, right?" Amy said, raising her eyebrow and handing Hannibal a tissue from her purse that she'd found amongst the mess.

"Thanks, kid," Hannibal said taking the tissue. "Yeah, I need them to lead us to whoever they are working for."

"And you just had to make it look realistic," Amy replied, gesturing to the cut lip.

"Nah, I just didn't quite duck in time." Hannibal nursed his lip.

Amy shook her head and continued to clear up the office.

BA turned off the camera and started to help move the heavier furniture back into place.

"What are we going to do with this equipment? It's ruined," Amy said, turning towards Hannibal. She lifted the typewriter back onto a desk.

"It's okay, Amy. Face scrounged most of this stuff from junk yards and the odd second-hand shop, even the stuff that got burnt in the van. That's why he was more annoyed about the van. It cost more than the junk that was in it," Hannibal chuckled. "I'm sure BA can get most of this stuff fixed up as new. Right, BA?"

BA looked at him and gave a disapproving growl. "Some of it's beyond repair, Hannibal."

"Do the best you can, BA. We need this office to look functional again, and fast."

BA let out another growl, shaking his head. Amy decided it was best to just continue tidying up.

Face and Murdock returned, some twenty minutes later. Standing in front of Hannibal, Face's hands on his hips, Murdock's hands in his pockets, Amy knew they didn't have good news.

Murdock dug Face in the ribs, making him flinch, and gestured with his head for Face to start talking. Hannibal cleared his throat, loudly, and the speechless conversation was over.

"You lost them." Hannibal's tone was curt.

"Yeah, something like that. But it wasn't our fault," Face said as he brushed his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, Colonel, an accident happened right in front of us, we just couldn't get past," Murdock added. Hannibal reached inside his top pocket for a cigar.

"Someone jumped a damn red light right in front of us." Face instinctively reached for a lighter in his pocket.

Hannibal puffed at his cigar. "So we still have no proof Flores sent them." Face shook his head at Hannibal's words.

"BA, what about this?" Amy interrupted them, holding up the coffee machine in one hand and the handle of the broken glass coffee pot in the other. "Can you fix it?"

Face frowned. "Oh boy. They broke the damn coffee machine. That was new." He took the coffee machine from her and looked at it, moaning to himself.

"Calm down, Face." Hannibal placed his hand on his lieutenant's shoulder. "We can get another coffee machine."

"Hey, Amy, were you all right in that office. I heard you scream at one point." Murdock looked at her with concern.

"I'm fine, Murdock." She walked over to BA and affectionately patted him on the shoulder. "BA, like a true hero, came to my rescue in the nick of time."

"Ah, it was nothing." BA waved his hand and shook his head as he continued tiding the office, hiding his face from the team.

Murdock now leant on Face's shoulder, they grinned at each other.

"What's a matter, BA? Have you gone shy?" Murdock teased.

"No!" BA firmly replied and screwed his face up, fists clenched. Murdock instantly started picking up a bundle of papers off the floor.

"BA." Amy put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from going after Murdock, but with the look he gave her, she quickly removed it. But BA stopped his pursuit after Murdock.

"You still want to be part of the A-Team, kid?" Hannibal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you kidding?" Amy answered excitedly. Suddenly she was reliving the adrenalin of watching the four men fight. "You guys were fantastic. And there were six of them! You guys really know how to handle yourselves." Amy couldn't hide her excitement. "This is the jazz, right?"

Murdock grinned and nudged Face, who shook his head.

BA also shook his head. "Man, you're contagious, Hannibal."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"How do I look, Murdock?" Amy asked, powdering her nose in the back of the limo, trying to keep her nerves under wraps. This was now her sixth date in as many days. And each date didn't get any easier; she still had the same amount of anxiety. Although, once in Carlos' company she'd soon relax, as he would prove once again that she had nothing to worry about. This was going to be yet another dinner date at his house. She had nothing to worry about.

"Great, sweetheart. You'll knock him dead."

"Wouldn't that put an end to all of our problems?" Amy caught Murdock's eye in the mirror as he laughed at her sarcasm but Amy dropped her smile, a twinge of guilt. She'd never wish Carlos dead. "Right, well I'm ready. Are we nearly there?" Closing her purse, she stared out of the darkened window to look for familiar surroundings; they were approaching the gates of Carlos' mansion.

"Afraid so." Murdock grinned at her through the mirror and she gave a faint smile back. Her heart seemed to suddenly thump louder with nerves.

The guards waved Murdock through and he drove the limo up the gravel drive and round to the front door. Amy ran her fingers through her hair before stepping out of the vehicle, to stand next to Murdock. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Flores' butler walking out of the front door and approaching them. She turned towards him and smiled. Time to hide the nerves.

"Hello. Andrew, isn't it?"

"Yes, Miss Phillips," he nodded in confirmation. "Mr Flores is waiting for you in the library." Amy nodded and gave a quick glance at Murdock before walking towards the house. Murdock was able to give her a wink before the butler turned towards him. "Sir, Mr Flores will have Miss Phillips escorted back to her hotel after dinner. So there is no need for you to wait."

That's not the plan. He's waited before. Murdock stood there dumbfounded for a second and tried to quickly move the puzzled expression his face was probably showing. But he couldn't just leave. He was supposed to stay and be close at hand for Amy. Murdock thought on his feet.

"Er, Mr Phillips usually insists that I stay," Murdock quickly replied. "He would rather I drive Miss Phillips back after they've finished. They're having dinner here, right?" As he spoke, something told him otherwise. He watched Flores's limousine pull up alongside his.

"Mr Flores has had to change his plans. They will be dining out tonight after all."

"Ah, well, then there is no need for me to stay," Murdock replied, nodding. His eyes firmly fixed on the limo and not the butler. He got back in the limousine and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. He then pressed the button to wind down the driver's side window.

Murdock watched as Flores came walking out of his mansion with his arm around Amy, like a prized possession.

"I hope you don't mind, but we've been invited to dinner."

"No, no that's fine." Murdock could hear Amy reply. She looked at him through the windshield, a nervous glance. He subtly nodded at her.

As he turned the ignition and wound the window back up, Murdock watched the couple get into the limo and it pull off. Starting to slowly follow them down the driveway, he picked up a hand held radio.

"BA, do you read me, over?"

"Loud and clear, Murdock."

"Amy is being taken out somewhere. Follow the limo. It'll be too obvious if I follow them. But let me know where they're heading and I'll be right behind you."

"Okay, Murdock," BA replied and the radio crackled with the release of the button.

* * *

Inside Flores' limousine Amy sat trying to hide her anxiety. She felt like she was smiling a lot which probably made her look even more conspicuous. She had prepared herself for a night at his mansion, not in a restaurant. However, a restaurant would be less private, so his affectionate gestures would be calmed, if only slightly.

"Amy, are you all right?"

Amy looked at Carlos and gave a smile, realising she'd been staring into space. "Yes, sorry."

"Are you sure? You look," Carlos paused, "troubled." He placed a hand on her knee.

Momentarily, she broke the eye contact, glancing at the floor and then back into his eyes. "Oh, we've had a bad day at the office," Amy said, deciding to go with some truth. Might help explain her distant behaviour and hide her true anxiety. Besides, Hannibal wanted Carlos to know what was happening to them. Amy was there, after all, to feed back information, to look for a reaction, even clues that Carlos was behind the trouble. Carlos looked at her, raising an eyebrow, ready to listen. As if he wanted her to bare her soul with her troubles. Amy laughed, trying to calm her nerves. "I'll tell you later." She placed her hand in his as he removed it from her knee.

Carlos nodded and squeezed her hand.

"I hope you don't mind this change to our evening, but I thought it would be a good excuse to go for a helicopter ride."

Amy's eyes widened but she tried to regain control of her nerves. Her chest felt tight, and she needed air. She took a breath. Try to act surprised, pleasantly surprised not scared witless.

"Helicopter?" But her tone sounded afraid.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You're afraid of flying, aren't you?"

"Oh, no. No." Amy gently shook her head. Damn it, Amy, there was your one way out, she thought, kicking herself. Carlos still held her hand and started to gently stroke it with his thumb. She really needed to control her emotions; he was reading her like a book, luckily, the wrong book. Amy laughed her nerves away. "Just surprised, that's all. You're full of surprises, Carlos."

Carlos beamed at her, releasing her hand and placing an arm around her. "Great, because I thought we'd go to San Francisco."

"San - what about dinner?" Now she did sound nervous.

Carlos laughed. "Dinner is in San Francisco. I'm meeting a couple of business associates there."

* * *

"Ah man, this ain't good. They've just pulled into some private airfield," BA said into his radio, watching Flores' limo, two cars ahead of him. "I'm not liking what this is suggesting."

"Sit tight, BA, I'm not far behind you."

"Yep, they're heading for a chopper." BA continued to report.

"BA, I'll be there in a sec, I might be able to borrow a chopper."

BA shook his head as he pressed the button and spoke sternly into the radio. "Fool, you can't go chasing after her in a chopper, Flores will know something's up!"

* * *

As the helicopter blades started to rotate and whirr, Amy took a deep breath and swallowed. As a reporter, she'd flown in a helicopter many times, ones smaller than this, getting to locations. Still, she held her purse so that the whites of her knuckles showed.

Amy hesitated, slowly lifting her foot to climb into the helicopter. Her heart thumping hard again inside her chest. If I get on this chopper, I'm on my own. But if I don't, I'll probably screw this whole case up.

"Amy, are you ok?" Carlos took her hand.

Amy snapped out of what must have looked like a trance to Carlos. Think on your feet, Amy, don't give the game away. "Just these heels are exactly practical for climbing in and out of helicopters." She pointed to her shoes.

"Of course, where are my manners?" Carlos gently smiled at her before clicking his fingers at a bodyguard who was already inside the helicopter. He was almost the size of BA, Amy noted, as he took her hand, then supported her under her arm and Carlos held the other, they assisted her into the helicopter, practically lifting her.

Amy sat down. No escaping now. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. The adrenalin of fear coursing through her veins. Carlos had said they were meeting people. She had to be safe. There are two bodyguards and a pilot coming with us. Although they could easily do Carlos's dirty work. Amy rubbed her forehead and stared out of the helicopter's window. Don't think like that. She took another deep breath and smiled at Carlos as he now sat opposite her. He happily smiled back at her. Once we've landed, I'll try to let the guys know that I'm okay. But her mind was racing. How?

* * *

"Oh hell, this is not good. Not good at all, big guy." Murdock ran up to BA who was now standing by his van. They could see the helicopter lifting into the sky.

Murdock opened the sliding door of the van and started to rip off his uniform, throwing the chauffeur cap, suit jacket and shirt into the back of the van.

"What'cha doing, fool?"

"I've got to follow her." He grabbed his spare t-shirt out of a bag in the van and started to pull it over his head. "We can't lose her. What if he?-"

"-Murdock, you can't follow her." BA shook his head. "By the time you've got another chopper, they'll be long gone."

"We've got to do something, BA." Murdock looked at him with a worried expression. He frantically combed down his hair with his hands and placed his baseball cap on. "Has she got the tracking device on her?"

"Yeah-."

"But," Murdock interrupted him. He could tell there was a 'but'.

"The tracking system is in the van, and-."

"And," Murdock said anxiously, starting to pace back and forth, keeping his eye on the chopper fly off in the distance.

"And, by the time you're up in the air with it, they'll probably be out of range." BA growled back.

Murdock formed a fist and went to punch the side of the van.

"Hey, sucker, pound my van and I'll pound you!" BA glared forming his own fist and raising it. Murdock swung his punch down, into thin air, but it didn't have the same desired effect.

* * *

"I lost her, I lost her."

Murdock paced the warehouse, waving his hands about frantically as Hannibal and Face watched him.

BA grabbed him as he walked past and shoved him into a chair, to stop him pacing.

"Murdock, this is not your fault. You could hardly insist on tagging along." Face tried to reassure him, although he'd been anxiously combing his hands through his hair and adjusting his tie since hearing the news. "Amy's a smart kid, she'll work something out."

"Yeah, Face is right," Hannibal said removing the cigar from his mouth. He looked at his watch. It had been over an hour now. Amy could be anywhere. "If she's real smart, she'll try to contact us."

"Or lucky. Flores might not let her leave his side," Face added. "She might not be able to contact us."

Hannibal nodded. "Anyway, I want to cover the three places she's likely to call or show up at." Hannibal turned to Face. "Face, head back to the hotel. She may try to call there and Flores says he's going to drop her off at the hotel, so we should at least have someone there to watch if she shows up." Face nodded and then Hannibal looked at Murdock and BA. "Murdock, you stay here at the warehouse. BA and I will take the van, because if she does call us, it will probably be the van she tries first. We'll go stake out Flores' place, just in case she shows up there. If she makes contact with any one of us, then report it in. Okay."

All three men gave affirmative nods at their colonel. Face was the first out the door, BA following him. Murdock took a seat by the phone that actually did work in the warehouse. He leant back in the chair and put his feet up on the desk and just stared at the phone.

"It'll be alright, Murdock," Hannibal said, placing a hand on his shoulder and then he walked out to join BA in the van.

* * *

The large clock on the wall in the restaurant told Amy that she had left Murdock nearly three hours ago. She realised now she wasn't in any danger, at least as far as she could tell. Carlos had been the perfect gentleman and his two business associates and their wives, likewise. Even though his attention had been with the men, Carlos held her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of it. Every now and then he'd glance at her and smile.

Amy felt safe but anxious as she knew she needed to get a message to the team. If they were worrying about her, it would be for no reason. She just needed to let them know where she was. The table was waiting on dessert and Carlos seemed deep in conversation with one of his business associates, he'd let go of her hand, so she felt this was her opportune moment.

Dabbing her lips with her napkin, Amy turned to the woman next to her, the wife of Tom, Tim, whatever his name was. She'd been worrying so much all evening, she hadn't really taken information like names properly on board, although she knew she really should have done. Once she'd made her phone call, she would make sure she got their names.

"Excuse me, while I just go and powder my nose." The woman smiled back and nodded. She seemed nice; they'd been talking throughout dinner. Amy had let the woman do most of the talking. It was easier than trying to make stories up. She wasn't as good as Face, for making it up as you go along.

She'd already been to the restroom on arrival, and had spotted the phone nearby. Luckily it was tucked in a corridor out of the way of the main restaurant, meaning she could make a call privately. But at that point she'd known she would've been missed if she took too long. Throughout dinner and as she anxiously watched the minutes pass on the clock on the wall, she had been deciding the number to call. She couldn't afford to wait for an operator to direct her to the City Skye Hotel, and then their operator take equally as long. So she decided to call the number she knew off by heart.

She picked up the phone and quickly dialled the number.

"Chinese Laundry, Mr Lee speaking." A familiar voice. Amy sighed with relief. The quarter clanged, dropping down inside of the phone.

"Hannibal, it's me."

"Amy! Are you all right?" Hannibal's normal voice returned and sounded concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine. I can't be long. I'm safe and I'm in San Francisco." Amy heard Hannibal curse as she spoke. "The restaurant is called Duets. I don't know San Francisco all that well, but we're looking out on the bay and we're near Pier 39, if that means anything to you."

"Okay, kid. Do you need us to come get you?"

"No, no. I'm fine, really." And I feel a whole lot better now I spoken to you, she thought, a weight lifting off of her shoulders.

"You're sure, kid?"

"Hannibal, I'm fine. I've got witnesses. We're having dinner with some friends of his. I'm safe, I promise you."

"Okay, Amy."

"Right, I must go. Carlos will wonder where I am otherwise." She didn't wait for a goodbye, she clicked the phone down. Through the reflection of a mirror she could watch her table, and had seen Carlos looking around the restaurant. Deciding that she might need to address her makeup so that it did look like she'd powdered her nose, she rushed into the restroom.

* * *

Amy wearily opened the heavy roof top door to the stairwell. Carlos had dropped her off at the hotel directly by helicopter. They had stood on the hotel roof top, with the helicopter whipping up the wind and causing so much noise, the only true way Carlos could say goodbye, was to kiss her. He'd brushed her hair off of her face, gently holding her head with both of his hands and leaned in to kiss her. She touched her lips as she walked through the double doors, feeling the kiss again, and smiled. It had been gentle and soft, not lustful. She had closed her eyes and relaxed into his tender embrace. It wasn't all bad, dating Carlos. In fact, part of her was overwhelmed by Carlos' ability to sweep her off her feet. There aren't many dates that take a helicopter ride up the coast just for dinner.

Now, tiredness was starting to creep over her. Luckily, she only had to walk down one flight of stairs, having a penthouse suite. She really wanted her bed. The helicopter journey had started to make her feel sleepy, like being a passenger the back of a car. Tired or not, it makes you sleepy. But she'd forced herself to stay awake. Although, sure that Carlos didn't intend on harming her, she knew that it was best to keep her guard up.

Should she go and knock on the team's door? Inform them that she's back. I'll ring from my room, she thought, starting to walk down the stairs. She didn't think she could face them. They were bound to ask her all sorts of questions, which could wait until the morning. Besides, by calling them from her room, she'd get into bed quicker.

"Not bad, just gone one a.m."

Amy physically jumped as her eyes shot up in the direction of the voice.

"Face! Christ, don't do that to me!" Amy caught her breath as her heart still leapt inside her rib cage. Face was leaning against the wall by the double doors at the bottom of the flight of stairs she was on. The stairwell was dimly lit and she'd been too busy watching where she was walking, and thinking to herself, to notice him.

"I thought you might need some privacy, so I waited inside," Face said, with a hint of sarcasm Amy noticed, as she reached him.

Amy rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Face turned, opening the doors for her and followed her along the brightly lit corridor, a transition from the stairwell. "Just checking to make sure you arrived back safely, Cinderella. You had us worried there for a while."

"But I told Hannibal that I was safe." Amy continued to walk towards her hotel suite, Face walking beside her.

"We wouldn't sleep well, not knowing whether you've returned or not."

"Oh," she replied. Amy stopped walking; suddenly realising her feet were killing her, and leant on Face with one arm for support.

"Are you okay, kid?" he asked, taking hold of her arm.

"Yeah, it's just these damn shoes," Amy replied, slipping off her shoes and continuing barefoot along the corridor, giving her feet a new lease of life, instant relief. "Ah, that's better," she sighed. She was also dying to remove the dress she was wearing; it now felt uncomfortable, not allowing her to relax properly or breathe. She'd kill to get into her own bed but the hotel one would have to make do. It seemed so far away at the moment, her apartment. Home.

"Did you have to wait in the stairwell?"

"I was watching the rooftop, but moved once I saw the helicopter arrive. I didn't want Flores to spot me."

"And what if Carlos had walked me to my room?"

"You wouldn't have let him," Face said, grinning.

"True." Amy nodded. Inviting Carlos back to her room was something she knew mustn't happen. That would be giving him the wrong message.

"Someone needed to make sure you got back to your room safely, Amy."

As they reached her hotel suite, Amy started to rummage through her purse to find her key but Face already had the door open.

She glared at him as she entered her suite and walked through to the living room, dumping her shoes by the side of the couch. Face followed her.

"And so, Hannibal sent _you_?"

He looked at her, tilting his head. "Yeah, why?"

"I just find it a little odd."

"Odd?"

"Well, I don't know. But you of all people, escorting me to my hotel room, something tells me he's testing you." Amy sat herself on the arm of the couch, providing instant relief to her weary legs.

"Testing me?" Face rubbed his chin and looked at her puzzled, narrowing his eyes. He walked a little closer towards her. "Why would he need to test me?"

Amy laughed again, her tone sarcastic. "Okay, Face. It's been just over a month since we came back from Mexico to rescue Al, so I don't know you _that_ well, but even I've noticed you go through women like," she paused, "like some women go through shoes."

Face laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Who says he's testing me? He could be testing you," he said with a hint of mischief and started to walk towards the front door.

Her expression became serious. "Well, either way, we can tell him he's wasting his time, can't we?" She got up from the couch and followed him back to the front door. "Because I'm not your type. Right?" She leant against the wall near the front door with her arms folded defensively in front of her.

Face opened the front door and started to step out. "If you say so." He smiled cheekily and gave a wink. "Good night, Amy." He shut the door behind him.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Face lay on his side, one arm tucked under his head, sleeping peacefully beside her. The sheets covered his waist, leaving his chest bare. They were in her apartment. Her home. She watched him sleep and was about to move in closer to him, but was distracted by a sudden weight at end of the bed. Carlos slowly crawled up the bed, moving himself on top of her, only the sheets separating their naked bodies. He held his finger to his lips. Not to make a noise. Not to wake Face.

She felt pleasure and excitement, her whole body tingled as his lips touched hers, and he pressed his body firmly against her. He was hard. He wanted to make love to her. Carlos started to slip under the sheets so that his body was against hers.

Amy gasped, sitting quickly up in bed and opening her eyes. She fumbled for the bedside lamp and switched it on, squinting in the sudden bright light. As her eyes adjusted, she could see that she was in the hotel suite, not her own bed at home. In her haziness, she checked beside her and was relieved to find herself alone. The clock by her bedside said it was ten past three in the morning. She had the urge to phone Murdock, even Face, to just talk, but thought better of it. It was the early hours of the morning, and besides, what was she going to say? I dreamt I was sleeping with you and Carlos.

Amy shook her head and ran her hand around her neck. It was wet with sweat. The room was hot, too hot, she thought. She lay back down on the pillows, throwing the bed sheets off, so she could cool down.

This was the second dream she'd had. Last night it had been Murdock sleeping beside her, and again it was Carlos visiting her. Creeping up the bed towards her, wanting her and it felt so real. As she awoke she couldn't believe how real it had felt. She had felt aroused. How do dreams do that? It wasn't exactly a nightmare, the feeling it gave her was pleasure, sexual pleasure, but what did it mean? And why were Murdock and Face with her in her apartment? She hoped it signified them protecting her or something. But even them being in her dream had felt good. She shook her head. That thought really needed to go.

And Carlos? Did it mean she should have sex with him? Give Carlos what he wanted? She could tell he wanted it. They had been dating for over a week now and there was only so long she was going to be able to drag this out. The other night, on the hotel roof top, with the helicopter whipping up the wind, had been the start of his more obvious desire. Tonight his passion had continued to show, as they'd sat in another romantic restaurant and how he'd kissed her goodnight. Gentle but passionate, wanting, patiently. And a tiny part, deep inside of her, that wanted to give it to him. But that would be wrong. Very wrong.

Pulling the sheets up over her shoulders, Amy lay on her side and turned the bedside lamp off. She rolled onto her back, laying there, hoping that by closing her eyes she would feel tired and fall asleep. She turned onto her side again, fidgeting underneath the sheets. Her legs felt restless. Her head felt like it could explode. The walls felt like they were closing in.

Amy let out a deep frustrated sigh and turned her bedside lamp back on. It was no use. She had so much information whizzing around in her brain, let alone the dream, she needed to get out, escape. And as a reporter, the only way was to write. But she didn't dare risk writing any of it down in the hotel room, just in case the guys were right about Carlos. Although she still doubted it, she thought best not to take the risk.

The only thing she could think of was her word processor at her office. It was as if it was calling her. She could make notes on that and save it on a file and no one would be the wiser. And she would feel better afterwards.

She had to do something because she knew the sleep wouldn't come otherwise. The room was hot. Making her feel trapped and hemmed in, even claustrophobic. Over a week of living a lie was taking its toll. She wanted some normality, comfort, her life back. In this hotel suite, however luxurious it was, it was lonely. It just reminded her of everything that she was doing, was a lie. Even though it was what needed to be done, for the team, it didn't mean it felt right.

"Ah, I've got to get out of here!" Amy said out loud, angrily. "Before I go crazy!"

Amy got out of bed and went to her closet to find something suitable to wear. Hanging up, separate from the designer labels were her clothes. Hastily, she threw on some clothes, grabbed her purse and the room key, and headed out of the suite.

Pushing the little silver button to call the elevator, Amy wondered whether it would be quicker to take the stairs. She was already starting to feel better, just being out of her room.

Suddenly, Amy jumped, hearing a noise to her right. The corridor was brightly lit, and with no windows you wouldn't know if it was day or night. There was a corner up ahead, past the doors to the stairwell. She couldn't see anything, but curiosity got the better of her. Slowly she walked along the corridor towards where she'd heard the noise, and approached the corner with caution.

Amy jumped, her heart beating faster and louder. Her eyes focused on the barrel of a gun and then the serious face of the person who held it.

"Oh, it's you." Murdock relaxed, clicking on the safety and dropping the gun. He quickly tucked it in the back of his pants.

Amy was momentarily stunned watching Murdock transform from a serious soldier to his usual relaxed persona. "Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" She snapped, folding her arms in front of her.

"Shit, Amy. I was just coming out of our room, when I heard your hotel door close. You had me worried then," Murdock said, sighing with relief. "And where'd you think you're going?" His tone turned serious again as he frowned.

"Er, I was going to my office," Amy confessed.

"Your office! Are you crazy?" Murdock firmly took hold of Amy's arm and started to lead her. "I'm taking you back to your room."

"What? But-"

"No buts about it, Amy. You're going nowhere. Flores could be watching the hotel at this very moment."

Amy rolled her eyes as they arrived at her hotel door. Murdock snapped his fingers at her. Rummaging around in her purse, she found her room key and gave it to him.

Once Murdock had unlocked the door, Amy walked into her suite and he followed. She went straight to her mini-bar and pulled out a half bottle of white wine, sighing loudly.

"Drink?" Amy gestured, grabbing two wine glasses.

"No thanks, that stuff makes me talk funny." Murdock sat himself down on a couch.

"Murdock, this stuff makes anyone talk funny, if you drink enough of it." Amy had twisted the cap off and was pouring herself a large glass. She joined Murdock on the couch. "But I need something to help me sleep."

"Why can't you sleep?"

"It's nothing," Amy replied too quickly.

Murdock nodded, accepting she didn't want to talk about it. "So what did you want with your office?"

"I just wanted to get some information filed. I don't dare put anything on paper, as you guys have made me paranoid. And I've just got so much going on in my head-"

"Tell me about it," Murdock interrupted, laughing.

But Amy just stared at him. "About this case and about Carlos. Do you really believe Carlos is watching this hotel?"

"Not him personally, no." Murdock grinned.

Amy looked away and then looked back at Murdock. She wasn't in the mood for Murdock's humour. She just wanted to escape this damn hotel suite. Return her life back to some normality, even if it was for an hour. "So why are you up walking the hotel corridors, Murdock?"

"We take it in shifts. Face is up next."

"Face. Sure, he's a lot of use. Probably be down in the lobby chatting up the receptionist," Amy scorned.

"Hey, don't give him such a hard time," Murdock said, catching her eye. His expression turned serious again. "Face will watch your back. Trust me. He's a good guy. Maybe he doesn't do things you approve of, but at the end of the day you can trust him. Got it?"

Amy nodded. Was she being too hard on Face? A woman's instant reaction when she knows about guys like Face. She'd automatically put her guard up against him, and maybe she wasn't being fair. She felt the need to change the subject. "So, have you guys been on shifts during the nights, all this time?"

"Yeah, what's strange about that?"

Amy shook her head. "Nothing." Obviously. "But why?"

"Amy, Carlos Flores is a very dangerous man. We can't take any risks." Murdock looked away breaking the eye contact. "Not where you are concerned."

"Oh, Murdock. Not you too. He's not dangerous. He seems very kind and sweet to me."

"And obsessed."

"What?"

"Forget it, it's nothing." Murdock got up from the couch and started to walk towards the door. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, wait, Murdock." Amy walked after him. "What do you mean, obsessed?" She had to admit, things were getting intense with Carlos, more than she expected. Maybe the guys did see things she didn't?

Murdock put a hand on her shoulder. "It's nothing, really. I," Murdock paused, "I just know obsessed people when I see them, and he's one crack pot waiting to happen. Just watch yourself with him, Amy. Keep your distance. That's all I'm saying," Murdock said as he opened the door. "Now good night. We'll see you in the morning."

Amy nodded taking a sip of her wine.

"And no funny ideas about heading over to your office." His voice was serious and then his expression relaxed, winking at her. "And I'm just outside if you do need me."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Face." He looked up over the newspaper he was reading. Amy stood in front of his desk. Behind her, he could see Murdock outside polishing the limo.

"Morning, Amy." Face smiled at her. If it was genuine, Amy couldn't tell.

"I thought you'd be out doing your surveillance on the Flores Corporation or those deliveries, or whatever you do during the day." She gave him a smile back.

"Later," Face replied. "I'm taking a break. Don't want to get spotted hanging around Flores' building too much, otherwise it will raise suspicion. And there is only so many fake deliveries a man can make."

Amy chuckled. "Well I'm glad you're here. I want to talk to you. Mind if I sit down?"

"Sure, grab a seat."

Amy grabbed a chair from another desk and sat opposite Face as he folded the newspaper, laying it on the desk. Amy held her hand to her mouth as she yawned.

"You alright, kid?" Face asked.

"Yeah, why?" Amy nodded, still yawning.

"You just look," Face hesitated trying to choose his words wisely. "A little tired maybe?"

"I didn't sleep too well, last night. Had a weird dream."

"A dream huh? You might want to discuss dreams with Murdock. He's apparently an expert on them. Or do you want to talk to me about it?" Face said, noticing her un-amused expression. "Is it getting to you, being around Flores?"

"No, I'm fine. I think I just need some caffeine." Amy shook her head. "Anyway, Face, I just wanted to apologise for the other evening."

"The other evening?" Face leant towards her, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes, the other evening, when you were showing me around the hotel suite. I wasn't exactly friendly towards you. And then when you helped pick out that outfit, I wasn't particularly grateful for your help."

"Oh," Face paused, as if he was registering the events and then nodded. "That's alright, kid."

"No, it's not. I was cranky as hell." Amy looked into his eyes, searching for something although not entirely sure what. "I was tired, but that's no excuse."

"Okay, well apology accepted then." He smiled again and gave her a little wink.

Amy chuckled, feeling herself relax more in Face's company. "I suppose you're not used to women getting cranky at you."

"Er, well, I suppose you could say I don't usually stick around long enough for them to get cranky at me." Face laughed back.

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe the less I know about that, the better, huh?"

"Yeah, probably," Face said, looking her in the eye. "You know, Amy…" Face stopped what he was about to say, and looked up past her. Amy turned to see where he was looking. Hannibal entered the warehouse, and Murdock and BA were following.

BA was squabbling with Murdock. "I'm telling you, fool, you want to use that stuff I've got in the van."

"Face," Hannibal called. "My office." He grinned.

Face nodded at Hannibal and rolled his eyes at Amy, who smirked back. "Maybe another time," Face whispered at Amy and then got up from the desk and followed after Hannibal. "Hannibal."

"Anything to report?"

"Those conversations that we recorded last night - I've listened to them twice this morning. Nothing, Hannibal," Face replied, leaning against the doorframe. Hannibal made himself comfortable at the desk.

Amy had followed Face. "Hannibal, are you sure we're right about Carlos?" Amy asked as entered the office. Face followed her in. "You don't think we are barking up the wrong tree here?"

"No, kid, I'm certain something's not quite legit about his operations in these buy outs. He has to be involved."

"I just don't believe it." Amy shook her head, unconvinced. "To me, he's just so…" She paused trying to find the right words. "Gentle and kind."

"Not getting attached are we, Amy?" Face chipped in, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Amy replied firmly, turning to look back at Face, scowling at him.

"He's working you, kid. Don't fall for it." Hannibal shot her a concerned glance as she turned to face him.

"I'm not." But nothing seemed false about him. And she was starting to fear that the more time she spent with him, the less false she, herself, would be.

Amy walked out of Hannibal's office. Face looked at Hannibal and they nodded to each other. Face knew what he needed to do.

"Amy, wait up." He walked after her. She was heading outside the warehouse.

"I need some air." Her response was short. She didn't look back as she continued out the front door, letting it swing.

"Amy, I just thought you might like some advice."

"Advice?" Amy turned towards him and rolled her eyes.

"Well, you haven't really done anything like this before." Amy shook her head and looked away from him. "You're technically the roper, which is usually my job. I just thought if you wanted to talk about it, well, you could."

"There's nothing to talk about, Face. I just can't see how Carlos is involved. He just seems too, er," Amy paused again, waving her hands in front of her. She wanted to make sure she worded this correctly. "Courteous."

"Be careful, Amy, it could all be a front. The man is dangerous."

"Oh, Face, do you really believe that? Because I don't think so. Surely he'd be showing signs. He's not raised his hand at me or shown any indication that he's actually dangerous."

"Amy, you've heard about these women who marry their perfect gentleman, and on their honeymoon get beaten senseless. Flores could easily be one of those. Hannibal's gut instincts are usually right. Flores is dangerous."

"Oh, don't be so ridiculous. I'd know. I'm sure of it. Wouldn't I?" Face was right; you did hear those stories and wonder how the woman could have been fooled. But then she'd always assumed they were probably half intelligent bimbos or ridiculously blinded by love, and she was neither. Maybe she'd give the team the benefit of the doubt and watch Carlos more closely. Murdock had said he was obsessed. "Okay, I'll be more careful, but I've done enough extensive research on Carlos. Nothing flagged up that he was a wife beater, or had a missing girlfriend buried in the Nevada desert." Face gave her a nervous glance as she spoke. "All I'm saying is that while I've been around him, I haven't seen him lose his temper over anything. I think Hannibal's judgement could be wrong."

Face frowned. "Just don't get emotionally involved. It's the number one rule in a con. If you think that you are, Amy, walk away now."

"I'm not emotionally involved! I know what my job is," Amy replied angrily. Then she took a deep breath, calming herself. She didn't need to be apologising to Face again for being cranky. "What about those two business associates that he met in San Francisco? Did you find anything on them?"

Face shook his head. "Nah, nothing. Flores has dealt with them for years. They came up clean."

Amy let out a sigh, putting her hands on her hips.

"Amy, I've fixed the coffee machine," Amy shot him a disbelieving smile and Face rolled his eyes. "Okay, BA has fixed the machine, so come grab that caffeine you said you desperately needed. Hannibal wants to hold a meeting."

"Look, I'm not falling head over heels for the guy. I'm just saying that the way he is treating me, I just can't believe it's him," Amy said, as she walked back into the warehouse with Face. "Oh, I've just thought of something though. A name he mentioned on one of our first dates. Didn't think anything of it at the time, it totally slipped my mind, but it might be worth checking out."

"Yeah?" Face replied with interest, holding the front door open for her.

"I'll tell you all in a minute, rather than repeat myself." Amy gestured to the rest of the team already waiting for them. Face nodded.

Murdock was pouring the coffee as Amy sat down to join the rest of the team. Face took his place at watching the front door.

"Okay, team, we are running out of options. Flores seems impossible to pin on this." Hannibal started to run through his thoughts on the case so far. "Face," Face nodded to confirm he was listening, "How are you getting on at Flores' company? Maybe he's not actually doing the-."

"Hannibal," Face interrupted him as he moved away from the door, sitting down at a desk. Hannibal looked at Face and followed the direction of his eye. The front door opened and someone entered the warehouse.

"Carlos," Amy said, looking up in surprise.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Hannibal clapped his hands together and Amy jumped. "Okay, everybody, meeting over. Get back to work," he ordered loudly. He glanced at Carlos to acknowledge him and then continued to watch his men. "And I don't want to see a screw up like this again. We need to run things tighter from now on."

Amy watched the guys spring into action, unflustered by Carlos' presence. Murdock walked quickly past Carlos and out the door, to start polishing the limousine. BA followed him, picking up some boxes on his way out and went to load them into a newly hired van.

Face instantly picked up the phone that sat on his desk and started to dial. He could be heard saying, 'yes I'll hold'.

She watched Face keep his eye on Carlos, and when Carlos caught his stare, he gave a sly smile. Carlos looked coldly back before turning his attention to Hannibal.

"Harry," Carlos said cheerfully, holding out his hand for Hannibal. Amy remained seated, hoping that her initial expression of shock at seeing him had worn off. She tried to look pleasantly surprised. The guys had done so well, falling naturally into their roles for Carlos's benefit; she didn't need to ruin the performance.

"Carlos, what can I do for you?" Hannibal stood up, smiling, and shook his hand.

"I've come to whisk your daughter away."

"But our date wasn't until later on this afternoon." Amy now stood up and approached Carlos. She looked from Hannibal to Carlos. "I was going to change."

"You look fine, Amy, just as you are." Carlos took her hand and kissed it. Amy felt the heat rise in her face. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you certainly succeeded there," Amy sweetly replied.

"Do you mind?" Carlos turned back to Hannibal.

"Of course not. Amy, go have some fun," Hannibal said as he winked at her. "You don't need to be stuck in this office." Hannibal looked her firmly in the eye and nodded. A reassuring glance she felt.

"That's settled then." Carlos put his arm around Amy's waist and escorted her out of the building, giving a satisfied glare at Face. Face just coldly stared back as he continued to talk on the phone.

Amy stopped just before reaching Carlos's limousine. "Oh, sorry, Carlos. I've forgotten my purse. I won't be long." He released his hold and she quickly walked back into the warehouse.

Face looked up, surprised, as she entered. He still held the phone in his hand.

"Conveniently forgot my purse," Amy said, grabbing her purse from the top of a filing cabinet and waving it at them. She then quickly turned towards Face. He was the only one in the warehouse.

"Face, Carlos was on the phone the other day, to a Wesley. But that's all I have. I'm sorry. It totally slipped my mind until now." Amy kept her voice low as if worried Carlos would hear her from outside. "But it might be a lead, a starting point in his company. I was about to tell Hannibal before Carlos walked in."

"Okay, thanks, kid. I'll see what I can find out," Face replied as he put the phone down. "Now, don't worry. We'll be keeping an eye on you." He looked out the window to the limousine. "Hannibal's sending Murdock and BA to follow you."

Amy nodded and walked back out to the limousine where Carlos patiently waited.

"Honestly, I'd forget my head sometimes, if it wasn't screwed on." She waved her purse at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she sat down beside him. "Carlos, this really is a surprise. I had wanted to wear something a little different." Luckily, she had put on one of Face's provided designer outfits, so she didn't feel completely inappropriately dressed.

"Don't worry, you look great, honey." Carlos signalled to his driver and the vehicle pulled away. "I noticed Glenn was in the office."

"Carlos, he works for my father," Amy said impatiently, trying to catch Carlos' eye, but he only glanced at her. "He's supposed to be in the office."

"Of course he does." Carlos nodded then frowned. "But do you talk to him?"

Amy rolled her eyes playfully. "Of course I have to talk to him. I sometimes do work for my father, too, and I need to work with Glenn."

"Do you get on?"

"We have to be civil, yes. Carlos, you have nothing to worry about."

"Of course I don't. I'm being..." Carlos shook his head. "So, what was all that commotion about back there? Your father sounded pretty harsh," he said, turning to face her.

"Oh, that. Well, since those creeps turned up a couple of days ago, other problems have been occurring. It's making my father cranky." Amy slowly relayed what Hannibal wanted her to say and hoped it sounded believable. "The business is starting to suffer. It was going to be tough starting up as it was, let alone this happening."

"Oh, those men you told me about." Carlos flushed with anger briefly. "You promise me, they didn't lay a finger on you, did they?" He gently stroked her hair. "You're not hiding the truth from me?"

"No, no. BA got to the creep before he could," Amy shuddered, "touch me."

"Remind me to thank BA, one day." He moved his hand from her hair and gently stroked her cheek, kissing her. Amy relaxed into his gentle caressing. She was starting to get use to it now, although she tried to silently tell herself that she shouldn't be enjoying it. "You know, I could try and help make it stop."

Amy's eyes widened, instantly tensing up and pulling away from the kiss. Was he about to confess? Were the guys right about him after all? Fear ran through her veins.

"Amy, why are you looking at me like that?" Carlos laughed and squeezed her hand. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a very rich man. I can find out who's doing this and get it stopped." As Carlos spoke Amy gently shook herself out of the momentary panic.

"Oh, er, I thought you were… never mind." Amy smiled, trying to hide her nerves and take the expression of shock off her face by relaxing. Inside she felt relief.

"What? I just thought, perhaps, I could help your father out financially, by investing in the company."

"No. No. Thank you, Carlos, thank you. But my father wouldn't want your money. It's a family business; he's never allowed outside investors."

Carlos nodded. "Look, there's never going to be a good time to admit this, but this seems like the best time of any." Carlos took her hand between both of his and stroked it. Amy became nervous and worried what her expression looked like again. "I need to tell you something, which may make you angry."

"Carlos?"

"But I want you to understand that I like to keep the things precious to me safe, Amy."

"How do you mean?" she asked nervously. For something that was just supposed to be a couple of dates, this seemed to be flying out of control. Nothing like she'd expected. She'd been seeing him practically every day for nearly two weeks now. The relationship was intensifying with every meeting and she could feel it now, closing in on her in the limousine.

"I," Carlos paused and looked her straight in the eye. "I have someone watching your hotel."

"What?" Amy snapped angrily, part of her meant it. She removed her hand from his grip. "Why? Don't you trust me?"

Carlos laughed and took her hand back. "Of course I trust you. But I'm a very rich man, and well, with money can come enemies. I just thought, as I've been seeing you regularly, I wanted someone to keep an eye on you. He's there for your protection, Amy."

Amy instantly felt guilt, for he had no reason to trust her. She was a lie, at least her life as presented to him was. She was trying very hard otherwise to be herself around him. Then again, could this be the obsessive behaviour Murdock mentioned? Was it really for her protection or for possession?

Carlos tried to soften her obvious tension by kissing her. Slowly she responded closing her eyes and relaxing, allowing the soft kisses. She was doing her damndest to keep this relationship slow but even her own heart was feeling a pull. And she didn't dare admit that she enjoyed his company, once she learned to relax in it. Right now, there was a part of her that wanted to just jump out of the moving limousine to escape the intense situation she was getting herself into and another that wanted to get swallowed up into Carlos's tender and loving attention that he seemed to be giving her. She hated the doubt, the confusion. It was tearing her in two.

"Now, why don't I take you shopping, as I haven't allowed you to get changed?" he said tenderly kissing her. "I'd like to treat you."

"No, Carlos. You don't need to buy me anything." Amy relaxed and giggled.

"Amy, it's not like I don't have money. I'd like to buy you a present."

"I know, but I just don't want you thinking-."

"I don't." He placed a finger on her lips. "What I find most attractive about you is that you don't mention my money." He kissed her ear and moved gently down her neck as he whispered. "All right then, if you don't want to go shopping, I'll have my chauffeur just drive. Doesn't matter where. And we can spend the afternoon in the back of this limo." His hand gently ran along her leg and up her thigh, while he placed his lips on hers and kissed her more passionately, inserting his tongue. Amy tingled with sexual excitement, which she tried very hard to calm and push to the back of her mind.

"Carlos," Amy said, in between the kisses, gently removing his hand from under her skirt, "you promised me, we'd take it slow."

* * *

"What's troubling you, Hannibal?" Face asked, noticing the concerned look on Hannibal's face as he watched Murdock and BA drive off.

Hannibal turned his attention to Face. "I'm worried whether we've done the right thing with the kid."

"Who? Amy?"

"Yeah. I just wanted it to be a few dates with Flores, then we'd have him nailed and have her out of there." Hannibal sat down opposite Face at the desk and frowned. "But we've come up with zilch. I know Flores is involved in this, but he's proving tough to crack. Damn it, he's getting on my nerves." Hannibal sank back in the chair and was still frowning. "What's your gut feeling, Face?"

"My gut feeling?" Face rubbed his chin. "My gut feeling is the same as yours, Hannibal. Flores is dangerous and involved. And I'm starting to get concerned that Amy might be in deeper than we think. Something Murdock said."

"Why, what did Murdock say?" Hannibal sat forward.

"He knows obsessive behaviour when he's sees it," Face said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and Hannibal chuckled. Face turned serious again. "But I think he's right. Flores doesn't want Amy out of his sight and he's showering her with gifts and flowers."

"Yeah, it's getting pretty heavy. It's gone on longer than intended. And I agree, Flores has got so…" Hannibal paused, "possessive with her. Wanting to see her practically every day. I don't even expect you to act in this way."

"You don't?" Face said frowning.

Hannibal raised an eyebrow. How far Face was prepared to go to rope a woman in, well, that was up to him. But with Amy this was different. With women it was different, wasn't it? Sex could mean a hell of a lot more to a woman than it did to a guy.

"I'm just concerned that if this continues for much longer, Amy's going to be expected to do something, and well, if she refuses, Flores could force himself upon her. I'd never be able to live with that."

The two men sat there silently for a moment, both deep in thought. Face was the first to speak.

"Okay, this is going to sound kind of crazy, but what if he's concentrating so hard on her, that he's not concentrating on his business? And that's why we can't nail him." Face tapped his index finger hard against the desk.

Hannibal shook his head. "I've already been thinking about that. But Joseph says he's still having problems. Flores has to have a right-hand man doing his dirty work." Hannibal stood and paced before turning back to Face. "Maybe we need to look even closer into Flores's business set up. He runs that legitimately, of course. But there's got to be someone in that company we haven't thought about, contacting the goons to do the dirty work for him."

Face nodded, making some notes on a pad in front of him. "I'm already looking into it. Amy's given me a lead. She heard Flores talking to a guy called Wesley the other day."

"And she's just told us this information?" Hannibal said, annoyed.

Face looked up. "She said it slipped her mind. To be honest, the kid is under a lot of pressure with Flores. She's new at this. Give her the benefit of the doubt. At the time, we weren't looking at anyone other than Flores."

Hannibal calmed, releasing his frown and nodded.

"Wesley isn't a common name. The man probably won't be that hard to find. I just need to pay Flores' Corporation a visit, so I can do some digging about."

"Okay," Hannibal nodded. "Find out what you can on this Wesley guy."

"I'll go this afternoon." Face nodded. "I've been watching the building over the last few days, so I've already got my scam in mind to get me in." He could still see some concern in Hannibal's expression. "She'll be alright, Hannibal. We're watching her like a hawk. I'll even make sure she's all right continuing with dating Flores. Otherwise, we can always pull the plug on this one."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

With a quick glance in the rear view mirror, Face adjusted his cap. He had a pair of light brown overalls on, the label on his top pocket read 'Phillips Services'. It covered the original label from a job they'd taken a few months back. Another of those boiler suits getting some wear. Face smiled to himself. He liked it when he'd managed to get something, and it had its multiple uses.

Pulling out BA's toolbox, he grabbed a couple of screwdrivers and placed them in his top pocket. He patted his pockets to make sure he hadn't forgotten his most important and favourite tools, his lock picks. Okay, he was ready.

As he slammed the van door shut, Face looked up at the tall glass building. At least one thing he didn't have to worry about was bumping into Flores. Hannibal had confirmed over the radio that Murdock and BA were following him the other side of town.

Wearing his best smile, carrying a large cardboard box, Face approached the receptionist of the Flores Corporations building. Luckily she was pretty; it was always easier that way.

"Hi, Miss." Face put down the cardboard box. "I got a call. Supposed to see, er," Face fetched a piece of paper out of his top pocket, "Wesley."

The receptionist looked at him blankly.

"No, you're not expecting me, are you?" Face sighed. "You'd think a well-established company like Phillips Services would be good at communicating, wouldn't you? I've been working for these knuckleheads now for two months." Face jabbed the reception desk with his finger as he spoke. "Two months! And am I starting to regret it. They didn't even give me the full name of this guy," Face looked at the paper again for affect, "Wesley."

The receptionist smiled. "Well, we only have one Wesley I know of. Wesley Mason, third floor."

"Ah, that could be him. You sure he's the right guy? No one else by the name Wesley?"

The receptionist shook her head. "No, there is only one Wesley and he works closely with Mr Flores, as his Operations Manager. That's why I remember him."

"Well, that must be him then. Mason, you say?"

"Yeah, but he didn't say he was having any phone trouble."

"No, no, he's not. I've come to install an upgrade," Face lied. "New computer." He pointed to the box by his feet.

The receptionist peered over her desk to look, then nodded. Picking up her phone, she said, "I'll call his secretary."

"There's no need, I'll go on up. Need to get a move on, I'm running late as it is."

"Oh, oh." Face could see she was looking him up and down, maybe trying to judge his character, so he smiled more, the 'you can trust me' look.

"It won't take me long. I'll be up and out of there in no time at all."

"Okay. I'm sure it won't be a problem." She put the handset back down as she spoke. "Mr Mason is out at the moment anyway."

"Thanks, thanks a lot. They won't even know I've been there, apart from the new computer of course." Face smiled again. "I was starting to think my day couldn't get any worse." He got the sweet smile he was hoping for from the receptionist. Even in his dorky overalls, he still could charm the ladies.

"Take the elevator, third Floor and then follow the corridor around to the right. You'll come to his office. Can't miss it," the receptionist said as Face picked up the box by his feet.

It was easy to make his way to Wesley Mason's office. His overalls were a great disguise. The busy office of people didn't bat an eye at him. Okay, a few of the pretty ladies succumbed to his smile as he passed them in the corridor. They'd smile back and he'd give them a wink. Damn shame it really wasn't the time to be getting numbers.

Face came to Wesley's office, noticing the vacant desk outside the door, obviously his secretary's. He knocked on the door, as a precaution, taking a glance around before entering.

He quickly dropped the box. Before starting to check the office, he set things up so that if he was disturbed he could look like he was replacing Wesley Mason's computer.

There was a Rolodex on Mason's desk. Face checked through it, noting any names and numbers that might be of interest. He then went over to the filing cabinet that was situated in the corner of the office. It wasn't locked. Flicking through the files, he came across several names of interest. He laid a couple of the files on the desk, rummaged inside his overalls for his camera and started snapping photos.

Quickly, he put the files away in the cabinet and was ready to leave when something caught his eye on the floor. He bent down and picked up a piece of paper next to the waste basket. Glancing over it, he raised an eyebrow and placed the paper in his pocket. Could be nothing, could be everything, he thought.

Picking up his box, Face stepped out of the office just as a woman walked around the corner, headed toward the desk outside Mason's office, a coffee cup in hand. Face's eyes widened. It was the woman he'd saved from the burning van.

Trying to hide his anger, he did what he knew best.

Dropping the box onto her desk, Face grabbed the woman and firmly kissed her. The woman, initially rigid, relaxed for a moment before pushing Face away.

"What do you-?" She put the coffee cup down, staring at him angrily.

"I can't believe it! You, of all people."

"Pardon?"

"I've been wondering about you, ever since that day."

"Sorry, do I know you?"

"Yeah, yeah. The other day, when my van exploded." Face gave her his best smile.

Face could see her realisation in the expression on her face.

"And now I look foolish. Damn it." Face picked up the box. "It was just suddenly seeing you...I came here on a job, and there you were, and...," he stammered, "and I'm just glad you're okay." He quickly headed down the corridor, without looking back; hoping he'd fooled her enough to make a hasty escape to the elevator.

No alarms seemed to be ringing so far.

* * *

"Is Amy back yet?" Face entered the warehouse, looking tired. He glanced up at a clock on the wall and then at Hannibal, who was sitting at a desk reading some papers. Hannibal put the papers down and looked up as Face entered.

"No, not yet. Murdock just called in. They were traipsing around LA, shopping, apparently. But Flores has now taken Amy to dinner."

Face nodded and sat down opposite Hannibal. His face was flushed and he seemed agitated, sweeping his hand through his hair.

"So, what'd ya find out, Face?"

"I found out who torched that damn van!" Face snapped.

"Really, so we are getting warmer?" Hannibal grinned, ignoring the anger in Face's voice.

"Yeah, looks that way," Face replied, as he got up and walked over to the coffee pot to pour a coffee. He sat back down near Hannibal warming his hands around a hot mug of coffee. "I found out his full name, Wesley Mason, Flores' Operations Manager. Getting into his office was a piece of cake." Face sounded calmer. "I've made some notes from his Rolodex, leads to follow up. And there were files on companies, but as far as I could see, nothing incriminating. I'll take a closer look once I get the photographs developed. But the guy could be smart, keeping it out of the files."

Hannibal let out a sigh.

"But I did find a note."

"Yeah?" Hannibal sat up in his chair.

"I think it was a note to his secretary," Face emphasised the last word bitterly. He reached into his pocket and handed Hannibal the piece of paper. "It was crumpled up on the floor, looks like she missed the trash can."

Hannibal opened up the piece of paper. "Please hand deliver to Mr Flores, re: Phillips, urgently requires his attention."

"However there was no file, so I think it's already in Flores' possession or on its way," Face said as Hannibal looked up at him.

Hannibal sat back, looking as if deep in thought. "You don't think he knows-?"

"No!" Face interrupted him confidently. "Trust me, Hannibal. I've got the background to this company so tight; it would take him weeks, months, to work out who we really are."

"I hope you're right. Still I'd like to know what's in that file."

"I know I'm right," Face said, sipping at his coffee. "You know, Wesley's secretary was the woman I saved from the van. A bit coincidental, don't you think?"

"Certainly looks that way. Just need to know if Flores sent her."

"Or Mason." Face looked at Hannibal, raising an eyebrow.

Hannibal nodded. "Did she spot you?"

"Yeah, unfortunately." Face gave an ironic smile at the thought of the kiss.

"Means we better work fast then." Face nodded. "Amy's got a date this weekend, right?" Hannibal asked, reaching for a cigar in his top pocket.

Face instantly got out a lighter to light it. He stood up as Hannibal reached over the desk. "Yeah, tomorrow night. Apparently Flores wants her to go to some charity event. Black tie affair. I've arranged for some tuxes."

"Okay, good, because I've got an idea." Hannibal grinned, cigar between his teeth.

"It better be a good plan, Hannibal."

"It's a great plan," he said, confidently, puffing at his cigar. "We find out what's in that file." Face nodded in agreement as Hannibal spoke. "And if there's nothing in it we can use then we pull out and find another way. Start following this Wesley guy, turn up the heat on him, because this is getting too serious for Amy. Flores is obsessed and it's not healthy."

* * *

Sitting at her desk, she waited for her boss to return. For some reason, her nerves were getting the better of her. But she'd done as asked. Hand delivered the file to Mr Flores. So why was she nervous?

This man who worked for Phillips Services and owned that van, that's why.

A short stocky man walked around the corner, making her jump out of her reverie. He wasn't particularly attractive, with his thinning hair and there was something suspicious about him. But he paid well, very well. So she tried not to think about it too much. Maybe she wasn't being fair, he was a nice person and she was just a bad judge of character. But he'd asked her to do something very wrong and now it seemed to be coming back to haunt her.

"Penny, you still here?" he said, smiling at her.

"Yes, Mr Mason. Something happened at the office today and well, I thought I better let you know." She stood up from her desk and coughed lightly. She knew she sounded nervous. "I thought it was best I told you in person, rather than leave a note."

"What? Did you get that file to Mr Flores? It's very important, Penny."

"Yes, yes, of course," she confirmed, nodding. "I delivered it earlier today. Mr Flores wasn't at home-."

"Wasn't he?" Mason interrupted her. He seemed shocked, annoyed even.

"No, apparently he decided to change his arrangements." Penny watched Mason roll his eyes as she continued. "So I gave it to his butler. But he assured me that he would leave it for Mr Flores to see."

"Well then, why do you look so worried?"

She cupped her hands together, staring down at them and then back at the man standing in front of her. "Er, well, when I returned the man from Phillips Services was outside your office. He owned that van you told me to, er, you know." She looked at the floor and then back at Wesley Mason.

"Oh." Mason reached for a handkerchief inside his pocket, dabbing his forehead as he glanced at his office and then back at her.

"I've checked your office, nothing is missing or out of place. Maybe I arrived at my desk before he could go into your office." Penny stood up and walked towards his office opening the door for Mr Mason to see inside. "Although, I am not really sure what he would be looking for."

"Neither do I, Penny." Mason gave a small chuckle as he approached the young woman, peering into his office. He placed the handkerchief back in his pocket. "Nothing missing you say?"

Penny shook her head.

"Well then, best this matter gets forgotten." Mason put his arm around her shoulder, squeezed and then released her. "Including the incident with the van. Why don't you take a couple of days off? Have a long weekend."

"Oh, thank you, Mr Mason." She walked back around to her desk to grab her coat and her purse. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes. I'm sure I'll manage without you for a few days." Wesley waved his hand at her. "Now not a word to anyone. Let's keep this matter between us, shall we? For both our sakes."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Face, go get Amy," Hannibal ordered as he straightened his red bow tie in the mirror and slipped on his tuxedo jacket.

"Me?" Face turned to Hannibal, still fixing his mike behind the handkerchief in his top pocket.

"Yeah, you. Murdock and BA are already downstairs. By the time you've fetched her, I'll be ready," Hannibal confirmed. "I'll meet you in the limo outside."

Face headed towards Amy's hotel suite. Catching sight of himself in a mirror along the corridor, he adjusted his bow tie. He was wearing a sharp black tuxedo with a red bow tie and matching cummerbund. He'd chosen red, for himself and Hannibal, knowing what Amy was going to be wearing. It would help blend either of them together as a natural couple with Amy, if needs be.

He reached her hotel suite door and knocked.

"Who is it?" Amy called from inside the room.

She must have been looking through the peephole, because he hadn't the time to answer. She'd already opened the door to him.

"Wow, Face," Amy looked him up and down, "just when I thought you couldn't get any better looking, you go and put on a tux." She brushed at his shoulder, removing imaginary fluff from the dark suit.

He smiled at her and then his eyes widened.

"Ah… Amy, aren't you ready yet?" Face asked as he walked into the hotel suite, nervously looking at his watch. Amy was wearing one of the hotel's bathrobes. Her makeup was on, heavier than usual, and her long brown hair was twisted up at the back and held by a grip, with a few pretty strands falling down the side of her face.

"I've just got to put on my dress, that's all," she sounded anxious, "I was just worried I might do something to get it dirty, or something stupid." Amy hurried into the bedroom. "Hang on, I'll be two minutes."

Moments later, Amy emerged in a strapless red evening gown, holding it by the bust with both hands. The long length complemented her tall figure, and had a split up the front (a tulip hem the woman in the store had called it) so as she walked it sexily revealed and accentuated her long legs. The dress, with its boned bodice, hugged her figure perfectly. She had put on a pair of red stiletto heels to match. All of a sudden Face was aware how tall she was. He didn't need to look down into her eyes as they were at his height. Face couldn't keep his eyes off of her, stunned by how elegant and beautiful she looked.

She backed up to him, the dress undone, revealing most of her back. It needed fastening from the bottom of her spine to halfway up her back.

"Face, please can you do me up?" she asked innocently, not noticing Face's dumbfounded behaviour.

Face hesitated. Her back was bare, no bra. The dress just didn't allow for one. He smiled to himself. His hand out in front of him, he wanted to gently stroke his fingertips down her naked back, just along her spine. Face groaned, suddenly remembering this was Amy, he snapped out of the fantasy and did up the zipper.

Amy did a quick twirl once she felt the dress was done up.

"So, what do you think?" she asked.

Absolutely stunning, Face thought.

"Nice," he said, replying nervously to her question and gave her one of his smiles.

"_Nice_?!" Amy snapped. "A two thousand dollar dress and you say I look _nice_!" Amy looked disappointed. He could tell even she thought she looked better than 'nice'.

"Gees, Face, I thought you knew how to sweet talk a woman!" Amy said, grabbing her purse and room key from the sideboard. As she walked towards him, she didn't look at him, busying herself by placing her key in the purse and checking she had everything else she needed in it. They both left the room and walked to the elevator down the corridor. Face could see by her whole body language he'd upset her, rarely making eye contact with him.

As they stepped into the elevator Amy finally spoke.

"This is it, isn't it? The last date." She stared straight ahead.

"Yes, this is the last date," Face replied as he pressed the button for the ground floor.

"Good." Amy nodded although Face wasn't sure he was convinced by it. He had a feeling this had already gone too far for Amy with Flores.

"It's just," Amy continued nervously, "yesterday, when he turned up to surprise me, it was getting pretty heavy in the back of his limo."

"Really?" Face teased but Amy scowled at him. He dropped the expression, realising not to make a joke of it. "Er, so how did you manage to cool him down?"

Amy let out a sigh. "In the end, I agreed to go shopping and let him buy me a present."

"Ah, that's why BA and Murdock were moaning about traipsing round half of LA," Face chuckled, trying to lighten her mood. "What did he buy you?"

"This." Amy held out her right arm and on it was a pretty silver bracelet encrusted with a few rubies. "I really took my time to find something that wasn't too expensive, but wasn't cheap either."

Face nodded. He understood. She hadn't wanted a present from Flores, but to keep her cover she had needed to find something that Flores wouldn't have been suspicious of.

"You know, I'm still impressed, and frustrated," she glanced at him, as she turned to check herself out in the elevator mirror as they descended, "that you know my dress size." He could tell Amy wanted to change the subject, watching as she brushed herself down and pulled at the bodice to adjust the dress.

Face smiled, impressed by his own good judgement.

"Amy, as Murdock said, I'm good with figures." He winked at her, as he also made his final adjustments in the mirror.

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Oh and remember those outfits are on loan!" Face decided to reiterate, knowing that she'd become rather attached to some of the dresses. "They've got to go back in one piece."

"I know, I know," Amy responded impatiently. "I never did ask how you got the store to part with so many outfits."

"I told them they were going to feature in a major magazine I work for," Face smiled. "Tell them it's either them or Versace and they instantly bite."

"Face, you definitely have a way of talking people into absolutely anything," Amy chuckled, her coldness towards him lifting. "A believable face and an irresistible smile."

"They don't call me Face for nothing, you know." He grinned mischievously and she continued to laugh as the elevator door pinged open.

The two of them walked to the limo, which awaited them, and got in. Murdock turned from the driver's seat.

"Wow, Amy. You look beautiful."

"Thanks, Murdock."

"You look great, kid," Hannibal also confirmed, sitting opposite her.

Amy smiled coyly, catching Face's eye out of the corner of hers. Face fidgeted, straightening the lapels of his jacket, realising his blunder. And I said 'nice', he thought.

"Right, let's go over the plan again, so we are all clear," Hannibal said as he felt the limo start to move. "First off, Murdock is going to drop the three of us off at The Latimer Hotel for this charity event. Face will set himself up in good surveillance position. It's a black tie affair, so I'm sure, Lieutenant, you'll blend in nicely."

Face smiled and nodded in confirmation.

Hannibal turned his attention to Amy. "We'll wait in the lobby for Flores, that's where you said we'd meet him, right?"

"Yes, I did," Amy replied. "He did want to escort me here himself, but I said that you insisted taking me. Although he was intrigued to know how you managed to get tickets at such late notice."

Hannibal grinned at Face, who was running his hand through his hair. "If he asks, I'll tell him I've got a very good supplies officer, which is the truth."

"What if he spots Face?"

"Tell him, 'Glenn' has come with me. It's a corporate charity event after all," Hannibal replied and Amy nodded. "BA is already heading over to Flores's in the van. Murdock will head over there after he's dropped us off," Amy nodded as Hannibal spoke, "and once Flores is on his way, Murdock and BA are going to do some investigating in that study of his. Trying to locate that file for a start."

"Will that be enough?" Amy asked.

"We've got to try and find something we can pin on him and if it's going to be anywhere, it'll be in that study. Once they've finished they'll collect us from the hotel."

"Got it," Amy replied, rubbing her upper arm with her other hand, and crossing her legs, fidgeting next to Face. "What if we need to get away before Murdock and BA collect us?"

"Good point," Hannibal looked at Face, "Face, did you manage to arrange a car?"

"Of course." Face smiled back. "I've already parked one of our rental cars at the hotel." He pulled out the car keys from a pocket and jingled them in front for Hannibal to see.

Hannibal nodded and then turned his attention back to Amy. "So, kid, you're going to have to keep up the act for one last time. Hopefully BA and Murdock won't draw any attention to themselves and Flores will be none the wiser." Hannibal looked back at Face, raising an eyebrow and Face shrugged, rolling his eyes back at Murdock. Murdock was singing in the front as he drove the limo. "Face and I have concealed mikes and ear pieces each, so we are in contact with one another. Murdock will ring me at the hotel lobby. I'll try and stay around there. Then, once Murdock and BA are out, we'll come and get you."

Amy nodded, giving a weak smile.

"But a sniff of trouble, Amy, and we'll have you out of there anyway," Hannibal said firmly.

Amy nodded again, but Face could see she looked nervous, tapping her fingers on her knee.

"Right, everyone ready?" Hannibal asked.

"Ready," the team replied back in unison.

Hannibal grinned at Amy and Face, like a boy in a toyshop. "Great, let's get this show on the road."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

After handing the doorman three tickets, Hannibal, Face, and Amy walked into The Latimer Hotel's busy lobby. Hannibal looked at Face, who nodded and went off to mingle in the crowd that was already forming of well-dressed business executives and their partners in their tuxedos and evening gowns. Hannibal placed his arm around Amy and gestured to sit on one of the leather couches that were scattered in the large reception area. A waiter came by, carrying a silver tray of filled champagne flutes and offered them a glass of champagne each, which Amy took. Hannibal held up a hand, declining, and looked at his watch.

"It's nearly eight o'clock, Flores should be here soon," he said, glancing at the large glass front door.

Amy nodded, fastening and unfastening her purse. Hannibal had already noticed how she'd taken a large gulp from the champagne flute and then placed it on the table in front of her, only moments later to pick it back up again. Hannibal put his hand over hers.

"Relax, kid," he said making her look into his eyes. "This is it. Whatever happens, whatever Murdock and BA find, or do not find for that matter, this is the last time I expect you to entertain Flores."

Amy stopped fiddling with her purse and put it down by her side, nervously smiling back at Hannibal. "Thanks, Hannibal. I think I'll just be glad when this is over."

"I just hope Murdock and BA do find something, otherwise I'm going to have to come up with another plan," he whispered light-heartedly, smiling at her.

Amy gave a smirk and then her expression dropped. She was looking past Hannibal, over his shoulder.

"He's here."

* * *

Face watched from the balcony of the grand staircase that swept up from either side of the great hall, forming a large horseshoe. From his position, he was able to watch the guests move from the lobby towards the large ballroom that held the main charity event. As there were function rooms above the ballroom filled with entertainment (casinos, live music) for this charity event, the staircase was starting to get busy with people drifting from one floor to the other, providing Face with excellent cover. With a champagne flute in one hand, and leaning on the banister with the other, he looked naturally part of the crowd. He'd seen Flores enter the hotel and take Amy off of Hannibal's arm. They had stood and talked for five minutes or so. He'd seen laughter between the two men and a handshake. Face had rolled his eyes. Hannibal was on the jazz; he couldn't help but love being under the nose of his enemy. 

Flores was stopping and talking to various people, obviously business associates and friends. Face noticed that he had his arm firmly wrapped around Amy's waist, as if she were a proud accessory. He was showing her off like a woman would show off a diamond ring. Occasionally he would kiss her bare shoulder and shower her with affection. Face couldn't help think he was acting like a man in love. Maybe that was too much; besotted with her, maybe? Could someone like Flores become obsessed? Was Murdock right about him? Whatever it was, Face worried that it was a dangerous situation for Amy.

As Amy and Flores slowly walked through to the ballroom, where dinner was to be served, Hannibal had headed over to the receptionist. Probably to inform her that he was expecting a call. That was the plan. Hannibal then sat in the lobby, strategically placed to watch Amy and Flores as they went out of Face's view.

Amy seemed unaware that Flores had bodyguards, but he had them, Face observed. They didn't stay too close to crowd Flores, but they were close enough if he were to require them.

"There are two bodyguards very close to you, Hannibal, so watch your back." As Face spoke into his mike, he watched Hannibal sip from his champagne flute, sitting in the lobby. "I'm sure Flores wants us watched."

"Yeah, I've spotted them." Face received Hannibal's calm response in his earpiece. "Right, I'm going into the ballroom now. They are taking their seats for dinner. Are you coming?"

Face watched as Hannibal moved out of view. "Yeah, I'll follow shortly."

* * *

The ballroom was laid out so that the large circular dinner tables surrounded the rectangular dance floor. On the stage was a string quartet, gently playing throughout the serving of dinner. 

Amy had spotted where Face and Hannibal sat in the large room. Both at different tables, both sitting between two women. The women were glorying in their prize of having a handsome man beside them. Amy had to keep her amusement under wraps. She was able to joke with Carlos about her 'papa' but she dared not to mention 'Glenn'. Carlos knew he was in the room, but she didn't need to make it obvious that she knew exactly where he was sitting.

As dessert was served, Carlos took Amy's hand and started to gently kiss it. She allowed him to continue the kisses. He kissed her shoulder softly but they felt different, with a hint of seduction, and then he whispered in her ear.

"I've got a suite for the night, honey. I hope you don't mind me being presumptuous." He gently kissed her around by her ear, sending the hairs on the back of her neck on end. The sensation continued down her arms, as if there was a sudden chill, even though she felt so hot. She breathed deeply and rubbed her arms to hide her arousal. Because his kisses did do that, they did arouse her. But it also gave her a worry that would fester now. He expected sex, he wanted sex with her tonight. She giggled trying to hide any fear or changes to her usual behaviour with him.

"Carlos, maybe I should mind." She kissed him on the tip of his nose and stood up. "I've got to go and powder my nose." Escape from this intense pressure.

"Of course, honey." He smiled at her. She knew he was watching her as she walked towards the restroom; she glanced back to confirm it, giving him a little smile. To Amy's relief, Face was sitting at a table on her way to the restroom. She caught Face's eye and signalled the direction she was heading, nodding slightly that he should follow. She hoped he'd read it right and that he'd just given a very subtle signal back, by keeping the eye contact that he would follow. So she made her way out to the restroom.

* * *

By Amy's facial expression and her eyes, he knew she wanted to talk. In the middle of conversation with the two charming ladies sat beside him, although a little old to be his type, Face glanced at Flores out of the corner of his eye. Flores was watching him like a hawk and wasn't that subtle about it either.

"Excuse me, ladies," Face said dabbing his lips with his napkin and stood up from the table. He watched Hannibal take the cue and walk over to sit beside Flores, in Amy's vacant seat. Once the two of them were in deep enough conversation Face calmly exited the ballroom and headed in the direction Amy had went.

"Face." A voice whispered as an arm grabbed at him and pulled him into the ladies restroom. Amy bolted the door behind them. They stood in what was the 'powder room' part, just mirrors and couches. Face adjusted his tie upon seeing himself in the mirror and gave Amy a glance.

"Are you okay?" Face asked, noticing her pacing the small square room.

"Face, he's got a suite. He's hired a damn room!" Amy sounded tense. Her arms wrapped around herself as she paced. She turned towards him and looked him in the eye. "What am I suppose to do?"

"Okay, okay. I can find out which suite he's in, easily enough. And get a key, if I need one. But it won't come to that. Just keep dancing with him."

Amy nodded and then stumbled, placing her hand against the wall for balance.

"Hey, and lighten up on the alcohol." Face looked at her more seriously, raising an eyebrow. He watched as she straightened her shoe back onto her foot, still looking a little too unsteady on her feet for his liking.

"I've had two glasses of champagne," Amy snapped. "I've been drinking water the rest of the time. Only sipping at the champagne glass when he's watching. It's these damn shoes. I'm not use to wearing three inch heels, believe it or not."

"Okay," Face spoke calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. She instantly stopped pacing. "Just relax, Hannibal and I are keeping a very close eye on you both. Hopefully we'll hear from Murdock soon, and then Flores won't have time to even think about taking you to that room." Face winked, trying to reassure her. "Just stay on that dance floor."

Amy nodded. "Thanks, Face."

"Okay, well you better go out first and tell me if it's clear."

"Oh, hang on, I better actually check my make-up." Face rolled his eyes but he was drawn to watching her. "Well he'll notice otherwise." Amy retrieved a lipstick from her purse and touched up her lips and then smoothed out her dress. It was intriguing, a woman and her preening.

"Right, I'm ready."

* * *

Murdock pulled up in the limo behind the greyish blue rental van, but there was no sign of BA. They'd chosen to use the rental van instead of BA's, knowing it would be less conspicuous. He tossed the chauffeur jacket and cap on to the front seat of the limo. As he got out he grabbed his baseball cap from the glove compartment. Locking up the vehicle, he then walked around the van, running his hand under the back passenger wheel arch. He pulled his hand away in a fist, and opened it up to see a key. Murdock grinned, throwing the key gently in the air and catching it.

"Thank you, big guy," he said to himself as he unlocked the van at the passenger door and climbed in. Rather than waste time, he thought he'd get changed. He moved to the back of the van to start getting into his second costume change of the day.

Once he was ready, he sat in the passenger seat and waited patiently. He checked his watch, the clock in the van, and then his watch again. I'll give him five more minutes and then I'm going in, Murdock thought. If BA had got into some trouble, then he was going to need to get in there and get him out.

But to Murdock's relief, BA came climbing over the perimeter wall. Dressed in black, wearing little of his gold, BA ran towards the van. He held a thumb up at Murdock and grinned.

* * *

Face walked back into the ballroom. Dinner had been cleared away and the lighting in the ballroom had been darkened. On the stage was a jazz band, replacing the earlier string quartet.

Fiddling with a key in the bottom of his tuxedo jacket pocket, he sat down at a table. As soon as he had informed Hannibal of Flores' plan for Amy, Hannibal had told him to get a key and find out the room, just in case. Face smiled as a pretty woman passed him, catching his eye. He sighed, any other night and he'd be following that woman. But she'd reminded him of the mischief he'd already been up to, which gave him another smirk he couldn't hide off his face. Damn, it was a dirty job but someone had to do it. Flirting with a pretty chambermaid and getting in a swift kiss, so that he could pick her pocket. Face had made sure she'd been distracted enough that she would think she'd dropped the missing key or something. Cheap and dirty trick, but he had to move fast. Besides he'd enjoyed the kiss and so had the chambermaid.

"I've found Flores's suite, Hannibal," Face spoke into his mike. "Penthouse, top floor." He didn't feel the need to add it was courtesy of a very helpful receptionist.

"Sounds about right," Hannibal responded from the other side of the room.

Face followed Hannibal's line of vision to find Flores and Amy in the middle of the dance floor. "So what now?"

"We sit tight, Face." Hannibal's voice seemed calm. "And wait for Murdock. He'll find something in Flores's office, don't you worry about that."

Before responding, Face smiled as another pretty lady walked past him. "Yeah, but what alarms will he set off while doing it? You know, I think I should have been the one…" He could hear Hannibal chuckling.

"Face, how shall I put this? You know you look better in a tux. And besides, BA is with him. Murdock won't be tripping off any alarms."

* * *

An alarm could be heard ringing throughout the Flores mansion and a very unhappy butler answered the front door.

"We got here, as soon as we could." Murdock stood at the front door, wearing dark blue overalls and his baseball cap, chewing gum.

Murdock so far was pleased with his plan. Luckily he'd taken a lot of notice of Flores' study that time, which seemed eons ago, and spotted the control panel for the alarm system. His plan was simple; he'd asked the big guy to deal with the alarm system, which he had. He wasn't sure how he'd done it, but he'd done it. Once they'd tripped the alarm, they intercepted the automatic phone call from the alarm system company; twenty minutes later for 'transit time', they were standing on the doorstep ready to fix the alarm.

"Me and BA here will get it fixed in a jiffy." Murdock slapped BA on the back. BA, standing next to him in an identical suit and holding a toolbox, scowled at Murdock.

Flores' butler looked the two men up and down.

Murdock flashed his I.D. card, just as he'd seen Face do it all the time.

"Well, come in. Luckily Mr Flores is out for the evening, otherwise he would be less than pleased with this interruption," Andrew said as he ushered the two men into the house. "Follow me." Murdock smiled and winked at BA behind the butler's back as they followed him. BA gave him another scowl.

As hoped, the butler led them into the study, where the control panel for the alarm system was fixed to one wall.

"Thanks, it shouldn't take too long." Murdock said, as BA started to crudely rip open the panel. The butler's eyes widened and looked nervously at Murdock. "Don't worry, we'll have it back good as new."

"I'll be back in a few minutes to see how you are getting on," Andrew said sternly, giving them both another look up and down, and then left the room, subtly shaking his head and mumbling something. Murdock sighed with relief.

"How long will it take you to turn that alarm off, Big Guy?" Murdock said over the alarm.

"How long will it take you to turn the room over, Fool?" BA said glowering.

"Okay, okay. Good point, Big Guy, good point," Murdock replied hastily, nodding and then turning towards Flores' desk and filing cabinets. He noticed a mass of paper work and photographs covering Flores' desk, like someone had been looking at them but hadn't had the time to clear away the work.

As he moved closer to the desk, his eyes widened. There was a letter opener stuck in the desk, stuck through a photograph. "BA, you'd better knock that guy out if he comes back."

"Why, Murdock? That's not part of the plan!"

"No, no, it's not. But I've just found us a whole heap of trouble." Murdock held one of the photographs up for BA to see. He watched BA's expression quickly turn from angry to shocked, and then back to mean and angry again.

Murdock quickly picked up the phone and dialled the number he'd memorised. "BA, you might want to cut that alarm."

"We're not ready yet, sucker."

"No, but it's getting on my nerves and I need to think clearly." With his free hand, Murdock started to gather the papers and photographs in front of him and place them back in an open file. He crooked the phone under his chin to free his other hand. "Yes, hello, is that The Latimer Hotel? Please can I speak to Harry Phillips, he's expecting my call. Yes, I'll hold."

BA had the alarm off in a matter of seconds, to Murdock's relief.

"Come on, come on." Murdock mumbled to himself, still with the phone receiver crooked in his neck. The study door opened, and before the butler could say a word, BA had rendered him unconscious. Murdock held up a thumb to BA.

"Hannibal," Murdock said as he quickly took the phone receiver into his hand, his tone deadly serious. "Code red, Colonel. He knows. Get Amy out of there. Now!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18 **

Carlos slow danced with Amy, in the middle of the crowded dance floor. Amy heard him sigh. He took his arm off of her waist and looked at his watch; it wasn't quite ten o'clock.

"Come on, honey, let's go have a little party of our own," Carlos whispered in her ear. His breath sent a sensation through her she had no control over. Amy giggled, trying to hide that excitement.

"Carlos, one more dance," Amy tried to protest as he started to escort her out of the ballroom. As they walked, he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm firmly around her waist. Something about staying on the dance floor nagged at her. But she couldn't put up much of a fight; part of her wanted to go with him.

Once they reached the elevators, Carlos pressed the call button. As they waited, he started to gently kiss her bare shoulder and gently stroke the back of her neck, around her hairline. "I want you all to myself tonight."

"But the night is still young, Carlos," she whispered between the kisses. Amy kissed him back, unsure what else to do. She couldn't risk doing something that didn't seem ordinary to Carlos. "There's plenty of time."

"I know, but I can't wait any longer to be alone with you." The elevator door opened and they stepped in. Another couple tried to enter, but for some reason Amy didn't quite understand, they changed their mind.

"We'll wait for the other one." The gentleman of the couple smiled nervously and stepped away from the elevator.

Carlos gave the couple a smile as he pressed the floor number he wanted, the elevator doors closed, and he turned to face Amy. Temporarily she caught a glimpse of coldness, but his expression instantly melted back to the Carlos she knew, although mischief was now in his eyes. He gently wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed himself up against her. She slowly walked backwards and found herself against the elevator wall. Her heart started to thump inside her chest.

"Carlos," Amy nervously giggled. His kisses were strong and passionate. Making her light headed, even dizzy. "Slow down."

As he moved his kisses around to her neck, he whispered, "I've waited too long. I want you, and I want you tonight."

Amy caught her breath and closed her eyes. If everything he was doing felt so right, arousing her sexual desire, turning her on, why was there a tiny voice inside her head, which she was finding very difficult to listen to, telling her it was wrong?

* * *

"Shit, Amy. What are you doing?" Face cursed as he saw Flores and Amy start to walk off the dance floor. He instantly stood up and started to follow them but the crowds of people didn't aid his attempt to get there quickly.

"Face, move. That was Murdock," Hannibal spoke sternly into his mike. "Flores knows about her. Go get Amy, now!"

"Copy, Hannibal," Face replied, fighting his way around the tables and the crowds, wanting to move even more quickly now.

Okay, don't panic. He already knew where Flores' suite was. It was just a case of getting there as quickly as possible. Hopefully Amy will be able to hold Flores off until he got there. Although they were going to have words about the agreement 'don't leave the dance floor'. Then he gave a nervous smile and groaned. Two of Flores' men appeared out of nowhere. "Ah, Hannibal, I might need some help."

"I've seen them, kid." As Hannibal replied, Face turned on his heel and quickly headed for another set of elevators.

Once he reached them, constantly looking over his shoulder, he impatiently pressed the call button, pushing at it repeatedly, as if that would help. He sighed, thinking if it would be quicker to take the stairs, but he had a feeling he was going to need to save his energy.

Face got into the empty elevator and turned to press the button. He beamed. Two more of Flores's men were heading straight for him, but they weren't quick enough. Face couldn't help but poke his tongue out as the elevator doors closed.

"Oh boy, I'm going to pay for that."

* * *

"What'cha doing, fool?" BA asked, hiding the unconscious butler in the closet. Murdock was frantically pulling the letter opener out of the desk, to release the photograph of Amy. He placed it in the file with all of the other papers and photographs he'd gathered.

"He's not keeping this. It belongs to Amy," Murdock replied sharply. He tucked the file under his arm and then hastily went over to the filing cabinet. Quickly he opened each of the drawers until he came to the one he wanted. Keaton. He pulled out the file. No time to look at it now, just take it. He then pulled out a handful of files, as many as he could grab, knowing at least one was GAN Networks Ltd. They could read them later. But now Flores knew about Amy, they had to move fast.

"Here, BA. Put these in your toolbox," Murdock said as BA approached him. BA quickly undid the toolbox and removed the tray to reveal an empty compartment beneath it. Murdock shoved the files into the toolbox and BA hurriedly put the tray back and shut the lid, locking it.

"Let's go. I've cut the phone line in here, but I'll cut the main cable once out on the road," BA said as they hurried towards the study door.

"Good, wouldn't want them getting a warning to Flores now, would we?" Murdock gently opened the study door to survey the corridor. It was clear. He gestured for BA to follow him and BA nodded.

Unsure if they'd raised any suspicion, or whether the butler would be missed, they hurried through the house and out the front door. They started to quickly walk round towards their rental van.

"Hey, you two!"

* * *

"Face." Hannibal spoke into his mike, watching the elevator door close.

"Yeah," Face replied. Hannibal could hear the elevator ping in the background.

"Two of Flores's men have just got into an elevator. You've got company, kid."

"Yeah, I thought as much."

"I'd join you, but I'm being watched." Hannibal glanced at the two large bodyguards that seemed to have gotten closer to him, since the last time he looked. "I might have to lead them a merry dance." He grinned at that thought.

"Copy that. I'll let you know if I run into some trouble." Face sounded like he was running.

"Okay, kid."

* * *

"Uh oh!" Murdock looked at BA and they both started to run towards the rental van. The two men that were marching up the driveway towards them also started to run.

BA threw the toolbox into the back of the van before jumping in and turning the ignition. Murdock, in the back of the van, grabbed a rifle and held on for dear life as BA pulled away, the tyres flicking gravel up behind them.

Flores' men had reached for their guns, starting to shoot at the van as it sped past them. Murdock opened the side door, hanging out of it, firing his rifle. The two men ducked for cover before continuing to fire at the back of the van.

"Ah, man!" BA shouted, watching the gates close before him. He pressed his foot harder against the throttle, and the van surged forward. "Hold on, Murdock!"

Turning to see the gates close, Murdock ducked inside the van, grabbing on to a seat.

BA crashed through the gates, smashing metal against metal, noisily scraping both sides of the rental van.

"Oh man, Face is going to love you!" Murdock joked. But BA just scowled back at him.

"Get the phone cable, Murdock," BA ordered as he sped the van out of Flores's driveway, wheels screeching and smoking as it turned onto the road.

Murdock nodded and leant back out of the van. As he saw the telephone pole, he aimed and fired the rifle at the junction box. They had intended to take out just Flores' cable by cutting it manually. But they didn't have time now, with more men standing out in the road firing at them, and a car in pursuit, the whole neighbourhood had to go without phones.

* * *

Amy and Carlos entered his penthouse suite. Carlos kicked the door closed behind him with his heel, and started to kiss Amy. He couldn't keep his hands off her, caressing and fondling erogenous parts of her body as he kissed her.

It felt good. Sexy, but then that tiny voice again, slow this down, slow this down.

They moved slowly from the living room into the dining room, passionately kissing one another.

"Carlos, Carlos, slow down, sweetheart," Amy chuckled; trying to gain control of the passion she was receiving from Carlos. Everything seemed to be swimming out of control. "We have all night, let's not rush this, huh?" Amy stumbled on her feet. Carlos gently caught her and helped her gain her balance. She put the back of her hand to her forehead. She felt drunk and dizzy again. Too much champagne, she thought. I must have drunk more than I realised. Momentarily a wave of panic passed over her. "Carlos, I'm, I'm not sure about-."

"Shhh." He gently placed his fingers over her lips. "Amy, honey, I've got to have you, and you want this," Carlos whispered to her before kissing her passionately once more, his tongue softly caressing hers. He pulled out of the kiss and looked deep into her eyes. "And yes, we can take all night."

Carlos slipped off his jacket and slung it over the nearest chair. She felt him guiding her, kissing and caressing her, gently running his hands down her back.

Amy felt him lift her onto the large mahogany dining table that stood impressively in his suite. As he did so, she felt him hitch up her dress, parting the split in it, so that he stood between her legs. Dizzy and excited, she let her head gently fall back and closed her eyes as he kissed her breastbone, her neck and any flesh not covered by her dress. She moaned, involuntary, as he gently started to run his hand under her dress and up her left leg that was now laid bare by the split in her dress. His whole body was aroused and she was responding to him. He pulled her towards him firmly pressing their bodies against one another.

She was finding it very hard not to surrender her body to Carlos. Filled with sexual excitement, she wanted to feel him inside of her, but there was this tiny voice in her head telling her it was wrong. Very wrong. Trying to remind her, he wants Amy Phillips, not Amy Allen, slow this down. But he was pushing all of the right buttons; he'd been doing it for so long now. Every date had been bringing her closer and closer to this point. Her whole body tingled with sexual pleasure, excitement. Her breath heavy. She wasn't sure she could stop the inevitable happening. She wasn't sure that she wanted to. As she slowly undid the top buttons of his shirt, not even sure why she was doing it, he pushed his hips against hers. She could feel he was hard, erect, pushing against her. Both of his hands were running up her legs, to her hips, starting to pull at her underwear.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 **

"Come on, BA, can't this heap of junk go any faster?" Murdock shouted, as the car following gained on them. The car's passenger was now hanging out of the window, starting to shoot at their rental van. Murdock hung on, leaning out of the side door and returning fire.

"I'm going as fast as I can, man," BA shouted over the gunfire, concentrating on the road and glancing in his mirrors. "Blame Face, not me! He rented it, fool," BA growled.

Murdock frowned, and then his expression brightened. "Hey, BA, take a right here. I got a plan." Murdock pointed to a road coming up. "And then the next left."

"That's not the way to the hotel!"

"No, no, I've got a better idea. It'll get me there much quicker!" Murdock released another blast of automatic fire and shot out the tyre of the car. It swung wildly in the road, smoke billowing from the tyres, spinning out of control, veering off the road. "Yes!"

BA soon realised where Murdock wanted to go, although by the expression on his face, Murdock knew he wasn't happy about it. At least he wasn't arguing, just put his foot to the throttle. Within minutes, BA drove the van into the private airfield where they had watched Amy fly off with Flores only days before.

On the flood-lit airfield stood Flores' large black and red helicopter, big enough to carry the team.

"Quickly, BA." Murdock pointed to the small office where a man was coming out of the door, about to lock up. BA screeched the van to a halt just outside the door. The man looked at them in shock. Murdock and BA jumped out of the van and hurried around towards the guy.

"Working late," Murdock said, as he jogged up to the guy.

"Yeah, yeah, I had some paperwork to fill out. Can I help you two?" the man asked, looking at them suspiciously. A portly fellow and shorter than he had first appeared, now that they stood beside him.

"Yeah, I'm Mr Flores' new pilot. He's asked me to pick him up tonight." Murdock held out his hand.

"Really? He didn't inform me," replied the man, raising an eyebrow and refusing to shake Murdock's hand.

"Yeah, change of plan. Last minute." Murdock rolled his eyes and took his hand away, putting both hands behind his back.

"Well, I'll still need to see your credentials."

"Yeah, I thought you might." Murdock nodded at BA. "Show him my credentials, BA."

BA scowled and raised his fist. "Yeah, read this, sucker!"

"Okay, okay." The man opened the door and Murdock and BA bustled in behind him.

The man stood frozen on the spot in the tiny office, staring at BA. Murdock impatiently clicked his fingers. "Keys, keys!"

The man jumped and reached behind him for a set of keys and then hastily passed them to Murdock. The man looked worried; constantly watching BA. BA softened his expression, which still didn't help the man relax.

"I promise to take good care of it. It'll be back here without a scratch on it." Murdock held his fingers crossed behind his back.

"Don't call the cops, either, sucker!" BA growled. "This is urgent. Someone's in trouble and we got to help her." The man nervously nodded as BA gave him another scowl. "I mean it!"

"Of course, of course," the man replied holding his hands up, but BA was already ripping out the phone line.

Murdock and BA secured the guy, Murdock apologising the whole time, as he tied the man to a chair. Then they hurried out of the office. Murdock tossed the keys in the air and caught them.

"Murdock, I ain't going in that heap of junk." BA screwed up his face and provided his meanest scowl as he pointed to the chopper.

"BA, that," Murdock pointed towards the chopper, his voice raised, "that is a Bell Long Ranger, _not_ some heap of junk!"

"I don't care what it is, sucker, I ain't flyin'."

"Fine, have it your way!" Murdock said firmly, impatiently moving closer and closer towards it. BA relaxed and smiled. "I haven't got time to argue. Just call Hannibal and let him know I'm coming in by air. It'll take me half the time in a chopper." Murdock started to run towards the helicopter.

"The rental van ain't got a phone. I'll call him from my van, should take me ten minutes!" BA shouted.

"Okay, okay. Switch to radio frequency 118.0 and I'll talk to you that way." Murdock turned towards BA, walking backwards towards the helicopter. "If you can get hold of Hannibal, tell him I'll meet him at the front door as planned." He grinned.

BA shook his head. "Man, you're almost as bad as Hannibal."

BA jogged back round towards the rental van. As he jumped into the driver's seat, he could hear the sound of the helicopter blades starting to whirr.

* * *

Face ran along the corridor to the door of Flores' penthouse. He took out the master key from his pocket. It gave him access to every room in the hotel. He smiled briefly at that thought. Unlocking the door, he took his gun out of his shoulder holster, pushed the door open and carefully entered.

Face could hear Amy nervously giggling, "Carlos, I feel dizzy, please, maybe, stop…"

Face swiftly but stealthily hurried along the short corridor and through to the living room, heading towards Amy's voice.

"Don't move, Flores!" Face shouted, as he stood at a safe distance in the doorway.

"What the - how'd you get in here?" Flores asked, angrily.

"Hands up. Now!" Face tried not to let the sight of Amy and Flores in an intimate embrace rattle him. "So I can see them."

Flores slowly took his hands away from Amy, lifting them in the air. His shirt was un-tucked, with a few of the buttons undone at the top.

Face could see the anger instantly in Flores' eyes. They glared at him.

"Sorry to spoil your fun, Flores, but Amy's coming with me."

"I'm sorry, Carlos." Amy sounded sincere. Face knew it had never meant to get like this. Not for her.

Amy tried to look Carlos in the eye, but he turned away from her. His focus was on Face. Cold and fierce, she could see the hatred in him now, a dangerous hatred burning in his eyes.

Flores reluctantly moved away from her, his hands still in the air, so that Amy could get off of the table. As she did so, she hesitated, removing the silver bracelet she'd been wearing, and placing it on the table. She then hurried towards Face, straightening out her dress, pulling it down, as she did so.

"Quickly, Amy, trouble is on its way," Face warned, and took her hand as she approached him. "You okay?" Amy nodded. He could see she was flushed and hot from her intimacy with Flores. Face started to walk back towards the front door with Amy, keeping his eye and gun on Flores.

Flores angrily rushed towards them. Face instinctively hit Flores, hard, a glancing blow across Flores' chin with the butt of his gun. Flores stood momentarily dazed, nursing a cut lip.

"You'll never get away with this," Flores yelled angrily at the couple, spitting blood and hesitantly moving after them. But Face kept the gun firmly aimed at him, retreating back with Amy.

"But I just have." Face grinned.

"You're both dead!"

"Hey, I'm looking great for a dead man, don't you think?" Face gave a sarcastic smile as he gripped Amy's hand firmly and turned out of the door. He instantly started to run along the corridor, pulling Amy along with him.

"You took your time, Face," Amy said. Face sensed the annoyance in her tone.

"Sorry, but you looked like you were enjoying yourself."

Amy blushed with embarrassment, refusing to look at him. "That's not the point!"

* * *

As soon as the door shut Flores let out a fierce, raging shout. He turned around and swept the champagne bottle and glasses off the side table. Broken glass and champagne spread over the floor. Anything and everything that he could tear apart, he did, letting the uncontrollable anger surge through him.

"How dare they?" he raged to no one. "They have to pay. Whoever they are. They have to pay." Flores paced around his suite. He swiftly went to the telephone and dialled.

He spoke calmly to the receptionist, fetching a handkerchief from his pocket for his cut lip, but when his call went through, his harsh and cold tone returned.

"Find me the girl. I want her alive, you hear?"

* * *

Two men emerged from an elevator ahead of Face and Amy.

"Damn it!" Face pulled Amy down another corridor away from the men. He was almost dragging her. Her red stiletto heels were not helping matters. Her red evening gown was also hindering things; she tried to hitch it up with her free hand, but everything felt slow and sluggish. She desperately tried to fight the dizziness, and focus.

A part of her felt very relieved Face had showed up when he did. He'd strengthened that tiny voice in her head. She'd been finding it very difficult to slow Carlos and his intentions down, and even harder to resist her own sexual desire.

"Amy, ditch the heels!" Face stopped, nervously watching the corridor for Flores' men. "Quickly!" Amy nodded, relieved at the thought. Her shoes were killing her. She grabbed the back straps, slipped them off her heels and held them by the straps in one hand. As soon as they were off her feet, Face started to run, grasping hold of Amy's free hand.

"He knows who you are, Amy," Face said as they ran.

"What?"

"He knows. That's why we had to get you out of there."

"So why was he just…" She shook her head. I can't concentrate on this now.

"We think he was just too infatuated to let you go."

Face opened up the door to the stairwell and started to run down it, pulling Amy along.

Amy could feel her breath tightening; Face didn't look like he had even broken into a sweat. There were voices below as well as above. They'd only gone down a couple of floors as far as Amy could make out and Face was pulling her through another door, out of the stairwell and into another corridor.

They turned a corner and Face placed Amy against the wall. Some hotel residents were coming along the corridor. Face stood in front of her, holding her as though they were intimately embracing. She opened her mouth to speak, but he put his fingers to his lips and she remained quiet. They could hear the two men chasing them coming along the corridor.

His face was close to hers. Dizzy, staring up into Face's blue eyes, her heart beating fast, Amy just reacted. She pulled him closer by the collar of his tuxedo, firmly placing her lips on his. She still had that sexual excitement running through her body. It was like a drug running through her veins and she was finding it very hard to come down. She lustfully inserted her tongue into his mouth. Kissing him passionately, she tangled her fingers in his hair.

Face's eyes widened and he groaned with pleasure. He placed a hand to her cheek and pressed his body firmly against hers, responding to her kiss. Amy revelled in the feeling of his unexpected body strength against her. She could only assume the two men had passed them as Face withdrew from the kiss with a smile on his face. Amy reluctantly let go of him.

"I panicked, okay? I didn't know what else to do!" Amy blushed, looking straight into his eyes. Her whole body was still sexually aroused from Carlos and Face had just seemed like the right release.

"Did I say anything?"

"No, but you gave me that look."

"Hey, just proves you can think on your feet, kid. I'm impressed," Face said, as Amy automatically straightened his tie and then wiped the lipstick from his lips.

"Thanks." He winked.

Amy stumbled on her feet and Face caught her. She put her hand to her head.

"Are you okay?" Face looked at her, concerned.

"Just a bit dizzy."

Face raised an eyebrow at her. If he was going to lecture her about how much she'd drank, he could do it later.

"Come on, Amy. Let's get you out of here," Face said as he tugged her firmly. They started to run back in the direction they'd come. Unfortunately, their pursuers hadn't gone that far, and noticed this sudden movement from the couple.

"Hey! That's them!"

Flores' men started running after them, but this time Face and Amy had a good head start. They came to a pair of elevators and Face pressed the button. As the door opened, he beamed at Amy as if he couldn't believe his luck. He jumped in, quickly pressing the ground floor button and then stepped quickly back out again, sending the elevator to the ground floor. Amy felt him pull her and they ran around the corner. The two men arrived seeing the elevator going down.

"The stairs!"

The two men opened the doors to the stairwell next to the elevators and started for the ground floor.

Face and Amy ran around to the next set of elevators and Face pressed the button once again. They waited patiently, hearts beating fast and trying to catch their breath. Face still had Amy's hand firmly in his grip. One of the two elevator's doors opened, Face reached for his gun, but to their relief it was empty. They both relaxed momentarily as the doors closed and Face pressed the button to the ground floor.

"The ground floor? But you've just sent those creeps there," Amy asked nervously, as she adjusted her dress in the elevator mirrors.

"Yeah, I know, but we didn't have a lot of options, considering we were almost on the top floor," Face smiled and checked his own appearance in the mirrors. "We need to try and make it out the front door, or go to plan B."

"Plan B?" Amy asked. She looked in the mirror and noticed her hair was now falling out of its grip. Undoing the butterfly clip, she shook out her long brown hair. Dizziness waved over her but she tried to hide it from Face. She thought hard; trying to count how many drinks she'd had, but she couldn't remember.

"Yeah, Hannibal always has a plan B," Face replied.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

After ordering Face to get Amy, Hannibal had made a swift retreat into the ballroom.

He instantly bumped into two of Flores' men that were dodging tables and people to pursue Face.

"Hey, either of you two got the time?" Hannibal asked, blocking the men's narrow path between the tables.

"Huh?" One of the bodyguards said, trying to get past, roughly pushing at Hannibal, who held his ground. Hannibal watched the other guard talking into a mike, with his hand to his earpiece, as he tussled with the guard.

"Hey, guys, watch the tux." Held by the collar of his tuxedo, Hannibal turned his head to see Face get into an elevator with another two guards chasing him down. Hannibal smiled as he watched the elevator door close just in the nick of time with Face safely enclosed.

Hannibal punched the goon holding him in the gut. He was instantly released and made a run for it, around the table and in the opposite direction to Face.

Glancing over his shoulder, Hannibal saw the guards following. In front of him, two more of Flores' men were already getting into the other elevators.

"You've got company, kid," Hannibal warned Face.

Now Hannibal's pursuers were closing in on him, but like he'd said to Face, time to lead them a merry dance, or at least eliminate them, one by one.

He calmly walked out of the ballroom into the surrounding corridor that lead to the elevators the two goons had just gone up in. Luckily for Hannibal, this area was quiet, with the main activities in the ballroom; only a few people passed by or mingled, making their way to the elevators. Hannibal got out a cigar and put it in his mouth, watching the two guards approach him. They stopped in front of him, one standing just behind the other. Hannibal tried not to smile.

"Got a light, pal?" he asked.

The bodyguard in front shook his head and gave a sly smile as he watched Hannibal.

"Oh hang on, I think I've got one." Hannibal looked down as if to reach into his pocket, but quickly brought up a fist, knocking the guard square on the jaw. "Here you go!" The guard fell back, unconscious, into the other guard, giving Hannibal time to run again.

Hannibal headed up the stairwell to the next floor where the casino and other entertainment were going on. Amongst the different rooms, he eventually lost his pursuers and decided to take up a tactical position. He walked along the balcony, where Face had once stood watching the lobby, to see a bodyguard take the phone from the receptionist. The man looked up, and smirked at Hannibal, spying him on the balcony. Had that call been for him? Murdock? Damn, he hoped Murdock and BA were on their way.

"Hannibal." At Face's voice in his earpiece, Hannibal snapped his attention back.

* * *

Flores stopped pacing his suite at the knock on his door, and promptly went to open it. His chief bodyguard, a tall, blonde, burly man, entered the room.

"Mr Flores, two of my men are chasing them now. I've got the others ready on the ground floor."

"Don't lose them," Flores said angrily. "I want the girl, but unharmed."

"Yes, sir." The bodyguard nodded. "And the man?"

"You can do what you like with him," Flores quickly replied and then shook his head, changing his mind. His voice was cold. "No, no, on the other hand, I might need him. Bring him too."

The bodyguard gave a relieved grimace as he left the suite.

Once on his own, Flores returned to pacing the suite, still furious, mainly for being such a fool. He had wanted to know why she'd lied. Was it for a story? What the hell had the last two weeks been about? He'd thought he'd found someone… Flores shouted out in frustration, fists clenched.

But he knew the truth or at least part of it. Harry Phillips had to be connected. Because if she wasn't who she said she was, neither was he.

Flores let out another angry yell, rage building in him and smashed his fist down on the table. Well, she was his now, whether she liked it or not. She belonged to him.

He glanced down and saw the silver bracelet on the floor. He bent down and picked it up, staring at it for a moment, before slipping it into his pocket.

Get the girl, and then deal with this Harry Phillips.

* * *

"Hannibal, we're heading down to the ground floor," Face confirmed as the elevator descended.

The elevator doors opened and Face took Amy's hand. He checked the area was clear before running out into the crowd, but they didn't run far. Two of Flores' bodyguards were approaching them.

One of the men tapped his friend with the back of his hand and pointed in Face and Amy's direction. They instantly sprang into action chasing.

Face was forced to go through into the ballroom. No other option. Hopefully he'd be able to weave his way to the lobby, for the front door.

"Hannibal, we're in the ballroom now, and we've got company," Face said into his mike. He spun Amy around on the dance floor trying to plan out his next move, constantly watching for Flores' men. The dance floor was even busier now; as the evening had worn on so had the alcohol. The guests were merry and dancing. The ballroom was buzzing.

"Can you handle it, Face?"

"I think so."

"Okay, I'll stay by the front door, unless you need me."

Making his way to the centre, the busy dance floor was hiding them, but only for the time being. Face could feel Amy's head on his shoulder as she danced with him. As they turned, he constantly watched across the ballroom. He held her tightly. She was quiet, not saying a word, but moved with him to the music.

Flores' men seemed to be coming towards him from all directions, looking for Amy. Moving from one woman to another, quickly apologising as they covered the room. Face edged his way off of the dance floor, no closer to the front door. He knew he could get himself easily through the blockade of Flores' men that was forming, but dragging Amy with him was a risk. They could easily snatch her from his grasp. He swallowed; that thought made him feel sick.

As he moved off the dance floor and into the thicket of tables, out of the corner of his eye, he saw two more of Flores' men and they were pointing straight at him.

"Damn it!" he cursed and picked up the pace, pulling Amy with him. "Amy, this way, sweetheart." She seemed in a trance, but quickly realised she needed to start running again as he pulled at her hand.

"Hannibal, I think I'm going to need some back up. They're closing in on us."

"Okay, kid."

As he started to head out of the ballroom to where the other set of elevators stood, Face could hear Hannibal in his earpiece.

"Nice, Murdock, nice." Hannibal was definitely chuckling. "Face, Murdock's arrived and you won't believe what in."

Face grinned. The fact that Murdock was already here meant only one thing. He'd flown here. Face now had a plan; his plan B.

As two of Flores's men started to head towards Face and Amy, he reached the stairwell next to the elevators.

Still firmly holding on to Amy's hand, he opened the door to the stairwell and looked up it to check it. It was clear. There wasn't a sound of anyone using it. He shoved Amy into the bottom of the stairwell.

"Huh, Face?"

"Amy, get to the top. Go to the roof."

"What?"

"The roof! Trust me, head for the roof. I'll be right behind you, I swear," Face said, fully aware two of Flores's men were very quickly approaching. "Now!"

Amy nodded, accepting the order. She didn't hesitate and for a moment he watched her start to climb the stairs.

As Face allowed the stairwell doors to shut, he was confronted with two of Flores's men. He nervously smiled at them and ducked as one instantly started to swing at him. Nearby guests instantly vacated the fight scene, some screaming with shock.

Face threw his own punches and blocked the blows. His objective was to give Amy enough time to get up the stairs with little or no pursuit. All of Flores' men were on the ground floor; they wouldn't be expecting her to be heading back up to the roof. He managed to grab hold of one of the men and use him for protection as the other threw punches. He shoved the man he was holding into the other, sending them both flying into a heap on the floor.

About to head up the stairwell, Face saw two more men coming. He groaned and headed for them instead. A similar battle took place and although he got caught in the lip and the ribs this time, his Special Forces skills were really no match for the two bodyguards. He was able to distract the men long enough, hoping Amy had a good head start.

"Face, I'm coming for you." He could hear Hannibal and then see him. Relieved, because the odds were starting to stack against him. The two men he'd first dealt with were starting to recover.

Hannibal was able to distract another couple of the bodyguards to allow Face enough time to make a run for it. His only option now was the front door with Hannibal. Flores' men were blocking the path to the stairwell. During the fight, Face had tried to keep an eye on the stairwell. No one had gone up it yet. At least, he hoped. He swallowed, trying to bury any fear. She had to make it.

Face ran through the lobby of the hotel with Hannibal, heading for the front door. But it was crowded. Face pushed a bellboy out of his way, apologising as he did so.

To clear a path for the both of them, Hannibal fired his gun into the air. Guests screamed and ducked down automatically.

"Everyone hit the ground," Hannibal shouted and the guests in the hotel lobby followed his order. But the bodyguards scrambled to their feet trying to chase them down.

With the noise of blades roaring and the wind whisking up, a red and black helicopter landed outside the front door.

"Nice, Murdock," Hannibal said, as Face dived into the chopper. Hannibal followed, but turned to fire his gun, to keep Flores' men away from the helicopter.

"Move it, Murdock!" Face shouted over the noise of the blades.

"Where's Amy?" Hannibal asked, confused.

"The roof. Head for the roof, Murdock," Face ordered, his breath heavy. Murdock saluted and the chopper quickly lifted high into the sky.

* * *

"Damn it, Face," Amy cussed as she climbed up the stairs as fast as she could. Her feet were killing her already, let alone now having to hike up to the top floor. She couldn't even take her shoes off to make her feet feel better as she'd already done so. "Trust him, he says, head for the God damn roof. We were on the damn top floor in the first place, why didn't we head for the damn roof then?" She panted as her breath got heavy.

"Oh, damn this dress!" Amy cursed loudly to herself continuing her climb up the steps, hitching up her dress with her free hand. The other hand held her shoes. Amy rolled her eyes at the number six on the door. Barely half way.

She stopped to catch her breath. Although the stairwell was carpeted, being in three-inch heels most of the night, the balls of her feet were still killing her. She could feel the blisters already forming on her toes. Still breathing heavily, she looked up and sighed, she still had what felt like a mountain to climb. "Damn it, Face, you are going to pay for this."

Amy jumped as suddenly a door opened somewhere below her and male voices were shouting. She looked down the middle of the stairwell to see the two men in tuxedos at the bottom starting to climb the stairs.

"There she is!" One of the men yelled out pointing straight at her.

"Shit!" Amy instantly reacted by throwing her shoes down at the men as hard as she could, one after the other.

"Bitch!" One of the men held up their arms to block the assault as the shoes pinged off the rail and clattered to the ground floor.

The men started to climb the stairs. Amy had already started to run, quickening her pace, hoping that the four or five floors between them would give her enough of a lead. Her heart beating faster as she started climbing the steps two at a time. She hitched her dress up even higher. A fear entered her heart like no other she'd felt before. Run. Head for the roof.

The men were still behind her. Her senses told her they were gaining. Fear alone stopped Amy from looking back. Just climb the stairs. Her chest ached, tightening. She breathed hard. The door to the roof in her sight, she glanced back over her shoulder. Instantly regretting it, she stumbled up the steps letting out a loud painful cry. Her hands landed in front of her, stopping her hitting her chin on the steps. Momentarily dazed by the bruising she'd just incurred along her right shin and foot, she picked herself up, cursing.

"Ow, ow, ow." Dizziness and a wave of nausea swept over her. Her right ankle hurt like hell and she was finding it hard to put weight on it. She grabbed the handrail, swallowed her breath and started to run again, using the handrail to pull herself up the rest of the stairs.

Amy groaned in pain as she ran. Ignore the pain, just run. She was slower and limping. "Face, if I survive this, you are _so_ dead." She could hear the men gaining on her.

Blinded by pain and fear. All she could hear was herself panting.

As she approached the door, she pushed on the bar across it and stumbled through as the door swung open.

She slammed the door shut behind her and put her back up against it, trying to catch her breath. She stood there momentarily, quickly assessing the roof. Another wave of dizziness and nausea hit her. Breathe, she told herself.

Her mind was too dizzy to understand why there were two large fire extinguishers near the door, but she was grateful.

"Come on, damn it," Amy shouted out angrily and frustration, quickly pulling at the canisters. They were heavier than expected but she used every ounce of strength left in her to drag them in front of the door. It wouldn't take the men long to get through the door, but she hoped it would slow them down long enough. Still limping and ignoring the pain, she then headed towards the edge of the roof.

"Whatever plan B is, guys. You'd better show yourself."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

"You sure this will hold?" Face looked nervously at Hannibal as he handed over his bow tie and loosened his collar. Face had a rope tied around him as a makeshift harness, secured to the inside of the chopper. Hannibal had helped him into it and was now checking it was secure.

"Sure, they pluck people out of the sea in these things all the time." Hannibal grinned, shouting over the noise of the chopper as Murdock flew them up into the dark city sky.

Face rolled his eyes. "Yeah, real harnesses, not ones we've just made from some rope we've found," Face snapped, sarcastically. "That we're not even sure will hold." He wasn't able to keep that fear to himself. He looked out on the city beneath them. All the buildings and cars lit below looked like a glow of fairy lights amongst the dark. Damn, he hoped Amy and he didn't become part of that glow.

"Okay, Faceman, you ready?" Murdock turned back and gave him the thumbs up. Face nodded back; he'd never really be ready to jump out of a flying helicopter. Why they couldn't land the chopper, he'd never understand. Hannibal didn't seem to think it was a good idea. No guarantee there was a helipad. This would be quicker, he'd argued.

Face carefully looked out of the chopper and ahead of him, as he eased himself out onto the skids. Amy was standing on the roof of the building, frantically waving to get their attention. Face was relieved; she'd made it to the roof. Guilt had been playing on his mind, worrying she'd not make it on her own, that Flores' men would have caught up with her. He'd promised that he would be right behind her, and he hadn't been.

Amy kept looking over her shoulder, then waving at the chopper in desperation, her expression showing her fear.

With the wind blowing around him, Face slid off the skids, holding them with both hands. And then he let go. Instantly, his heart was in his mouth, pounding. Free-falling a couple of feet, an adrenalin rush of fear kicked in, until the rope caught him, groaning with the jolt, and then he was floating in mid-air. The harness was the only thing keeping him linked to the chopper. Hannibal gradually lowered the rope, letting him down further. Murdock brought the chopper in low, but he couldn't afford to hover for too long.

"Hannibal! You might want to cover me!" Face shouted, pointing to the two bodyguards who had just appeared out of a door onto the roof and were now closing in on Amy. Luckily she had some cover with the air conditioning vents and chutes that were on that part of the roof.

Amy ran towards Face as he swung towards her and flung herself into his arms. Face lifted her off of the roof, her legs momentarily running in thin air.

Hannibal immediately gave Murdock the thumbs up to fly the chopper away from the building and the gunfire that was now aimed at them. Hannibal returned the fire.

Amy wrapped her arms tightly around Face as she heard the gunfire; he was the only thing that would stop her from falling. She couldn't bear to look at the city below her, and buried her head into his neck.

They floated away from the building and the immediate danger, the noise of the chopper blades cutting the air above them and the sound of the bustling city below.

"It's all right; I've got you," Face said, trying to reassure her. He could feel one of her arms wrapped tightly around his waist clinging to the back of his shirt and the other around his neck. Tightening his already firm grip around her waist, keeping her body close to his, he hoped this would comfort her.

"Amy, don't look down. Just look at me," Face spoke into her ear, as she glanced at the city below. "You're safe. I'm not going to let you go."

Amy bravely glanced up into his eyes, tightening her grip further. She tried to smile. Everything seemed a blur. Is this what Lois Lane felt like in the arms of Superman, with the wind blowing through her hair? Actually, Lois probably felt safer. At least Superman could actually fly.

"Thanks, Face." She buried her head into his neck, quickly shutting her eyes but didn't remove the tight grip she had on him. You're forgiven.

* * *

Flores played with the silver bracelet in his hand, rubbing one of the rubies with his thumb. In his other hand, he held a whiskey tumbler. He downed the remainder of the whiskey and continued to stare at the bracelet.

He couldn't stop thinking about wanting her. His body still yearned for her, still sexually aroused.

"What the hell did you want with me, Amy Allen?"

There was a knock at the door. Flores swiftly opened it thinking he'd find his bodyguard with Amy, but the man was empty handed.

"Where is she?" Flores spat his words angrily.

"I'm sorry, Mr Flores. We lost them."

* * *

"BA, I've spotted a parking lot, it's pretty empty from where I'm looking." Murdock spoke into his radio, giving directions and land markings to help BA find it. Hannibal wouldn't be able to winch in Face and Amy, so he needed to set them down as soon as possible, unsure how long that rope would hold. "How long till you get there?" 

"Copy that, Murdock, I should be there in ten minutes," BA responded over the radio.

Murdock started to descend into the parking lot he'd seen, easing down, hovering so Face and Amy didn't land with too much of a bump. The parking lot had only a few parked cars scattered in it, providing ample room to set down a chopper.

Face could see and feel the chopper was lowering. He prepared himself for landing.

"Amy, we're coming into land," Face said over the noise of the chopper, as he saw the ground getting closer and closer.

As Face felt his feet hit firm ground, his weight returning, he balanced himself to stand up. Amy stumbled, and he tightened his grip to stop her from falling, but she didn't seem to want to stand. He eased her down so that she could sit, frowning, the ground damp with the evening dew.

Hannibal undid the rope in the chopper and threw it to the ground so that Murdock could take the chopper back up and land it safely away from Amy and Face.

Murdock grinned at Hannibal, once the chopper was on the ground. "Well, would you look at that? One safely landed helicopter. I'll not let it be said that I crash them all the time." Hannibal chuckled and shook his head, as they both got out of the helicopter and hurried towards Face and Amy.

As they approached they could hear Face groaning. But he was quickly removing the rope harness and checking Amy over.

"Amy, are you okay?" Face asked, as he knelt down beside her and brushed the hair out of her face.

Amy groaned. "I'm just so tired." She rubbed an eye with her hand.

Face stood up and took both her hands to help her up. "Come on, Amy, we've got to move it. It's no good for you to sit on that damp ground."

"Ow," Amy moaned, taking the weight off of her right foot. She fell into Face, clinging to him and nearly fell over again. Face grabbed her firmly, with a worried look. He glanced down to see her swollen right ankle, revealed by the split in the dress.

"How'd you do that, Kid?" Hannibal asked, also noticing the injury.

"Did you do it as we landed?" Face asked.

"Er, I can't remember." Amy shook her head, raising a hand to her forehead. "I think I fell up some stairs." Face could see the deep graze and bruising along her shin and nodded to Hannibal. He also noticed her feet were still bare.

"And your shoes?" Face kept her steady, noticing she was no longer able to carry her own weight and relaxing more and more against him.

"I think," Amy spoke softly, uncertainly, "I think I threw them at the men that were chasing me." She sounded drunk, mumbling her words. "I'm sorry, Face."

"Hey, I'm not worried about the damn shoes. You're safe, that's the important thing."

"Here, let me, Lieutenant," Hannibal said, taking hold of Amy. Face was relieved Hannibal took over; his arms were starting to tire, too.

Ignoring some of Amy's grumbling, Face bent down and examined her ankle.

"It's just a sprain, Hannibal," Face said, looking up at him.

Without hesitation, Hannibal bent down and swept Amy off her feet to carry her. Amy wrapped an arm around Hannibal's neck and rested her head against his shoulder. She groaned and mumbled, but nothing coherent.

Face gave Hannibal a nervous glance. Something wasn't right.

Hannibal turned as he heard BA's van pull into the parking lot, the distinct rumble of the engine giving it away. Hannibal headed towards the headlights, Face and Murdock hurrying after him.

Skidding the van to a halt, BA jumped out of the van and ran around to open the side door as Hannibal approached, carrying Amy.

"She alright, man?" BA gave Hannibal a concerned look.

"Yeah, she's just twisted her ankle," Hannibal replied, placing her in what would usually be Murdock's seat. All four men jumped into the van, Murdock in the middle, between Amy and Face. Face let out a sigh of relief as he relaxed into his chair.

"Where'd you find the chopper, Murdock?" Hannibal turned in his seat to Murdock.

"Flores lent us that beautiful bird, Hannibal." Murdock grinned and Hannibal chuckled.

BA gave Murdock one of his special smiles, and then turned his attention back to driving the van. He pulled away and headed for the exit of the parking lot.

"Where to, Hannibal?" BA asked as they came to the main road.

"Our hotel."

"You think that's wise, Hannibal?" Face gave a worried glance.

"Think of any place better to go, Face?" Face shook his head. "If Flores comes tonight, he comes. We have escape plans in place for that hotel." Hannibal took out a long deserved cigar and lit it.

The men sat silent in the van, mainly observing Amy. She was fighting sleep and they could see it. Her eyes could barely remain open and as BA sped around a bend, she nearly slid off her seat.

"Whoa, Amy," Murdock said, grabbing her. He pulled the seatbelt over her, but for the rest of the journey Murdock continued to hold Amy in her seat. Her eyes were now closed and her head leant against the side of the van, or on Murdock's shoulder, depending which way the van was turning. "What's up with her?"

"Amy. Amy, can you hear me, honey?" Face softly asked. Amy groaned again, but nothing audible. Throughout the journey, Murdock and Face tried to get her to speak, keep her awake, but she wouldn't respond.

"Take it easy, BA. We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves," Hannibal said. BA nodded and concentrated on getting them back to their hotel as quickly as possible.

As Murdock continued to speak to Amy, Face glanced at her and nervously ran his hand through his hair, watching out the windshield, deep in his own thoughts.

It wasn't long before BA pulled the van outside the City Skye Hotel. As the van came to a halt, all of the van doors opened and each of them sprang into action. Face glanced at his watch; it wasn't even midnight. BA ran around the van to the side door and tapped Murdock's shoulder.

"Here, let me take her," he said. Murdock and Face stepped out of his way. BA swept her up, letting her head gently rest against his shoulder. She was too sleepy now to actually hold on to him around his neck. One arm dangled beneath her, the other across her chest.

"Murdock, park the van, but somewhere for a quick getaway," Hannibal ordered and Murdock nodded at him. "Face, walk with me."

Face and Hannibal walked behind BA, who carried Amy, unconscious or asleep, they weren't sure, into the hotel lobby.

"Okay, Face, tell me everything that happened."

"Why? Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Face lowered his voice, realising the hotel lobby was busy with hotel guests and staff, and didn't want to draw any more attention than they were already doing. A few heads had already turned at the sight of Amy unconscious in BA's arms.

Hannibal glanced at him as the pair of them followed BA into the elevator. Once the doors closed they continued their conversation.

"When we were in the restroom, she confirmed she'd only had two glasses of champagne. She was occasionally sipping at the third but mainly drinking water. And I watched her, Hannibal, the whole evening; she didn't drink more than three glasses of champagne."

Hannibal nodded, absorbing the information and churning over in his mind.

"But she did everything I asked of her, although at times she seemed distant. I couldn't understand why she so easily walked off that dance floor." Face scratched his head. "And when I got her from Flores' suite..." Face raised an eyebrow at Hannibal, hoping he didn't need to draw Hannibal a diagram. "At the time I thought she was just drunk. And we know that she did find him attractive, even trust him. So I thought maybe she was being easily persuaded. I don't know. Everything started happening so fast, once Murdock made that call. But I've had time to think about it," Face said, thinking about his short time dangling from a helicopter and then the journey in the van, watching her.

"And, what do you think, Face?" Hannibal looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"The bastard drugged her!" Face spat out angrily. BA screwed up his face and growled. All three of them looked at her, asleep in BA's arms. With her eyes firmly closed, her head rested against his shoulder, arms totally relaxed. Hannibal didn't need to say a word, Face could see by his expression he agreed with him.

The elevator doors opened, Face and Hannibal walked out first to check the corridor. BA followed, starting to walk towards Amy's suite.

"No, BA, she's in with us," Hannibal said, heading for their penthouse suite which was just along the corridor. BA and Face followed. "I want her where we can see her." Hannibal unlocked their room and they all entered. BA headed towards the bedrooms, Face hurrying after him.

"Here, BA, in this room." Face opened the bedroom door, flicked the light switch and hurried over to the bed to pull back the sheets. BA gently placed Amy on to the bed; Face placing a pillow under her head. She was now fully unconscious. Face sat on the edge of the bed, checking her pulse and then her forehead for an obvious temperature. Everything was fine; she was sleeping like a baby. A drugged baby.

He looked down, carefully moving back the dress, to assess her leg. Part of him disliked the fact he was doing this without her permission.

"BA, get me that first aid kit we carry," Face asked. The light was better in the room, he wanted to make sure he was right the first time, and started to examine Amy's right leg. It was bruised and swollen, and some broken skin, a grazing. He gently felt for a break. Amy moaned as he did so, he looked up to watch her face, but her eyes remained closed.

BA came running back into the bedroom with the first aid kit, handing it to Face.

"Is it broken?"

Face shook his head as he opened up the green box. "No, as I thought, just a sprain."

"Do you know how she did it?"

"She says she fell up the stairs," Face replied, gently binding her ankle. Once he'd finished, he pulled the dress back to cover her legs and stood up.

"Do you think we should?" Face pointed at her dress and hesitated. He wasn't sure whether to take her out of the dress. It didn't look exactly comfortable. BA shrugged his shoulders as if to say dunno' and then shook his head.

He nodded at BA, pulling the sheets back over her, and brushing any hair off of her face. With his touch, she sleepily groaned and turned on to her side. BA left the room, but Face stood there, only for a moment. Once he was satisfied that she was safe, and asleep, he left the room, switching the light off.

As Face entered the living room, Murdock entered the suite and tossed the van keys to BA, who was sitting on the couch. BA caught them with one hand. Hannibal stood leaning against the mantelpiece, puffing on another cigar.

"He drugged her, didn't he?" Murdock said, frowning, as he sat down opposite BA on another couch.

"That slimeball knew he wouldn't get it any other way, once he found out the truth about her," Face replied bitterly, disgust in his tone. He started to pace the room. Things were eating away at him now.

"Hannibal, what if I hadn't got there in time?" Face turned and nervously stared at Hannibal. "What if she hadn't made it up those stairs? Huh?"

"Face, don't beat yourself up about what could have happened." Murdock stood up and placed a hand on Face's shoulder, trying to reassure and calm his friend. "Amy's safe. She's sleeping peacefully; nothing happened to her and nothing is going to happen to her."

"Murdock's right. Can't keep talking about what ifs, man," BA added. "She's safe. Ain't nothing going to hurt her now."

"Lieutenant, she's safe; that's all that matters," Hannibal said, trying to reassure him.

"Safe?" Face snapped angrily. "Flores is still out there." Face pointed and waved his hands about as he spoke. "Or didn't you notice? And we haven't got anything on him yet."

"We've got the files to go through," Murdock added. "I managed to snatch those, too."

Face let out an exasperated sigh and continued his rant. "Files! What if they don't contain anything, no proof? He's still out there; he'll hunt her down! You didn't see him, Hannibal." Face glared at Hannibal. "He won't rest on this. I'm sure of it!"

"He'd have to get through me first," Murdock said, defiantly.

"And me." BA punched his fist into his other hand and nodded. "I'll stand in front of this door if I have to." BA pointed to the bedroom door where Amy slept safely behind.

"And me," Face said equally defiant. But guilt was eating away at him. The kiss he'd had with her came rushing to the front of his mind. She'd been drugged, easily receptive to him. Hell, she'd kissed him. He'd enjoyed it. He felt as low and deceitful as Flores, like he'd taken advantage of her.

"But I just feel so," Face hesitated, "bad."

"Why?" Murdock asked. "You rescued her from that creep."

Face shook his head, he couldn't confess about the kiss. "Nothing, you're right." He let out a sigh.

"Yeah, so calm down, before you wake our sleeping beauty, huh?" Murdock winked, sitting back down.

Face let out a sarcastic laugh. Nothing was going to wake Amy now. He pushed his hand through his hair and sat down next to Murdock. They looked at Hannibal, awaiting their instructions.

"Okay, Face does have a point. Although, I doubt Flores will show - he would have done so by now - I don't want her left alone tonight. We need to keep an eye on her too; we can't be sure what he drugged her with and how she'll react," Hannibal said, looking at the three of them in turn and looking at his watch. "Murdock, Face, you'll take first watch." Hannibal turned to them and then looked at BA. "BA and I will relieve you in four hours."

All three of them nodded back at Hannibal.

"But first, Face," Face looked up to Hannibal, "clear out Amy's room. I want us out of here tomorrow morning. Murdock, you go with him."

Murdock and Face stood up to walk out of the suite. Murdock walked out first but just as Face was about to leave he turned to BA. BA nodded at him and moved himself in front of Amy's door. Face smiled and left the room to clear out Amy's suite.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Carlos Flores got out of his bed, a naked woman beside him, semi-conscious. She had long brown hair, and he remembered she had dark brown eyes, just like Amy. Last night, in his drunken rage, he'd left the charity ball and had made his driver stop at a bar. He'd found the first woman he could and seduced her, bringing her back to his mansion. She certainly hadn't needed drugging.

The first time he screwed her, she thought he was just playing lustfully rough and played along. The second time, she initially joked that he was hurting her and that she wanted it gentler; by the end she was crying. He had ignored her pleas, even slapped her to shut up. The third time she lay still, too scared to say anything, letting him take pleasure in his brutal assault on her.

The sex had helped his anger but not his desire for Amy. He had to find her.

He sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the phone beside him and dialled.

"Get me Wesley Mason. Now," he said firmly, before slamming down the phone. The woman groaned at the noise. He left the woman to sleep as he walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

Flores let the hot water relax and cleanse his body, but it couldn't clear his mind. He only thought of Amy and another matter that he now needed to deal with.

Ten minutes later, he walked out of his bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, calmly drying his hair with another.

The woman was up, wearing only her underwear. Frantically she struggled with her dress as she searched the room for the rest of her clothes. She froze, stock-still, as Flores entered the room.

"You bastard," she shouted, all of a sudden finding the strength and guts to face him. "You raped me!" She ran at him, her arm raised and tried to slap him. But he caught her arm, a rough strong grip, which made her let out a gasp, and threw her backwards, away from him.

"I did no such thing, sweetheart," he replied coldly. "I made sure dozens of people laid witness last night, that you wanted to fuck me," he started to snigger, "I made sure they heard you say it, quite a few times, in fact."

Flores grabbed her arm forcefully and pulled her around the bedroom. He could see the fear in her eyes, watery and wide, and the corner of his mouth twitched, almost sneering.

"Now get your clothes, sweetheart, and get your pathetic ass out of here," Flores spat the words; a cold hatred laced them.

There was a knock at the door. The woman gasped. Flores let go of her. "Come in." His tone instantly changed, controlled and calm, warmer. His butler walked in.

Flores smiled at him. "Ah, Andrew, please can you see to it that Miss…" Flores turned to the woman; he didn't even know her name. Flores smirked at her, hiding it from his butler.

"Collins," the woman said weakly, covering herself up with the dress she hadn't managed to get on yet.

"Miss Collins has breakfast and that my driver takes her anywhere she wishes to go."

"Certainly, Mr Flores." The butler nodded and then turned his attention to the woman. "I'll prepare a breakfast downstairs, Miss Collins. Please come down when you are ready."

"I don't want your damn breakfast, I just want the hell out of here," the woman shouted. Andrew raised an eyebrow, instantly insulted by her rudeness. "This bastard-."

"Miss, please calm down," Andrew interrupted her.

The woman opened her mouth to argue back, but Andrew shook his head disapprovingly. "You ladies are all the same - walk in this house, thinking you can get at his money. And I suppose this is your way, is it? To unjustifiably claim something against Mr Flores."

Flores smirked at the woman. Andrew, his ever loyal butler. He could always rely on him.

* * *

Amy rolled over in the bed. In the haze of coming around, waking from her sleep, she thought she saw someone walk out of the room. Looking over to the nightstand she saw a mug of coffee. Maybe it's their subtle way of waking her up? She let out a sigh. Her head was pounding, throbbing, as if she had the largest hangover in the world. She lay gently back down on the pillow, to help ease the pain.

As she started to take in her surroundings, through squinted eyes still trying to wake up, she realised she wasn't in her own hotel bed. The pillow had a familiar scent; male cologne. A horrible feeling hit the pit of her stomach, had she slept with Carlos? Her mind travelled back as far as she could remember. Carlos. Slow dancing on the dance floor. But the room looked similar in style to that of hers at the City Skye. Face. In a restroom.

Amy shot up in the bed, forgetting her headache. The cologne was Face's. She was in Face's bed. Oh god, had she slept with Face? She thought hard, ignoring her pain in the centre of her forehead. She remembered pulling Face into a room, the restroom, and talking to him. The conversation seemed a blur. The whole night seemed a blur. She remembered kissing someone, but was that Carlos, or Face? She shook her head, Carlos, in the elevator. She closed her eyes and swallowed. What she'd allowed him to do in the elevator, suggesting, consenting to have sex. How much did she end up drinking last night after all?

Pulling off the sheets to get out of the bed, she realised she still had her dress on. A sigh of relief waved over her. This was a good sign she hadn't slept with anybody. And she would know, wouldn't she? If she'd slept with someone she'd feel something, her body would tell her. Although, why was she still in her dress? Why was she not in her own suite, but Face's bed?

Amy moved slowly getting out of the bed. The woozy, light-headed feeling wouldn't let her move any faster.

She let out a gasp in pain as she put weight on her legs. Looking down, she saw her ankle bound, swollen and her shin was grazed. What the hell? She stood up the best she could, and struggled with the zipper on the dress. Finally, after she felt like the world's best contortionist, she slipped out of the dress. She sighed, it gave her instant relief. She felt able to breathe, less restricted but frowned, noticing the deep marks in her skin left by the boned bodice. Naturally, she rubbed her fingers over the marks. How she had slept with that dress on, she would never know.

The dress was dirty and ripped. Face wasn't going to be pleased. But how the hell did it get like that? She needed answers.

Noticing that there was a robe on the back of the door and afraid someone might walk in, she hurried over best she could, limping because of her ankle and put it on. It smelt familiar; the same male cologne. Definitely Face's. It smelt good, but she tried to bury that thought in the back of her mind.

Behind the door, she could hear voices in the other room. Familiar voices. The Team. Another sigh of relief and wave of safety swept over her. Everything is fine. Although a hint of worry hit her. Was Hannibal going to give her a grilling about drinking so much? Only one way to find out.

She fetched the mug of coffee and took a sip before walking out of the bedroom.

The four of them instantly turned to look at her and fell silent as she entered the living room. She squinted her eyes with suspicion. Had they just been talking about her?

"Okay, can one of you please tell me what happened last night? My head feels like it's going to explode and I feel like I've done ten rounds with BA."

"You'd last ten rounds?" Face joked, releasing a smile at her. Amy rolled her eyes but BA gave her a wink.

"Just tell me, how much did I have to drink? And what the hell happened to my ankle?"

"Do you remember anything from last night, Amy?" Murdock asked as he approached her. His voiced sounded concerned. It unnerved her but she hoped she kept that unease tucked away.

Amy thought hard, frowning, her hand rubbing her forehead. Again, the memory of being with Carlos in the elevator, but that's all she could think of. She remembered they were kissing passionately, but she didn't need to share that information with them. "I just remember walking off the dance floor and going into the elevator with Carlos."

Face looked at Hannibal, a silent conversation between the two of them. BA was shaking his head. Was it confirmation of a discussion they'd obviously just had?

Amy trembled. Realisation. Her legs couldn't hold her, but luckily she dropped on to the couch that was right behind her. Murdock sat beside her in seconds, taking the mug of coffee out of her hands. Face, BA and Hannibal jumped to their feet.

"Shit! He drugged me, didn't he?" She looked up at all four of them. They were all staring back at her, concern on their faces.

"Yes, we think he did, Amy," Hannibal confirmed.

She put her hands to her mouth and uncontrollably her eyes started to water. She couldn't stop them but she fought back tears by swallowing and breathing hard.

"Did he?"

"No, no, Amy. I got you out of there, before he could lay a finger on you," Face said, not strictly true.

"Amy, we found this in his study," Murdock said as her handed her a file. She looked at him with confusion, still trying to take everything in. She couldn't remember anything from the night before. Surely she'd remember how she'd hurt her ankle? Amy took the folder and opened it.

She let out a shocked gasp and then started to look over each piece of paper, document, and photo in the file. All about her. She was flabbergasted, speechless. Finally she looked up. They were all still looking at her, patiently.

"Have you guys looked at this?"

Murdock placed a hand on her knee. "Just enough to know that Flores shouldn't have it. I just grabbed it. He wasn't keeping it."

BA nodded in agreement, a scowl on his face, as Murdock spoke.

"Thank you, Murdock." She weakly smiled at him. "I've got nothing to hide," she glanced at each of them, "I just can't believe he had all this stuff on me, like," a puzzled expression shot across her face, "like my high school grades." She looked back at the folder, noticing a note and read it to herself. Amy looked up at Hannibal, handing him the note. "Hannibal, I don't think he requested this information, I think he was given it."

Hannibal read it out loud. "'Mr Flores, I thought this would interest you, Wesley'." He looked up from the note to the team.

"That's the file, Hannibal!" Face said, pointing to the file on Amy's lap. "That has to be the one."

Hannibal nodded, screwing up the note Amy had handed to him.

"After I visited his office, I made a few phone calls. This guy, Wesley Mason, started up in the company about six months ago, just when Keaton started to get his trouble, I might add. Do you think that's a bit of a coincidence, too?" Face raised an eyebrow. "Seems that he's very keen to do well in the company. So well he's getting on the nerves of some members of the staff for brown nosing his way up the company."

"So, do you think, he's been the one behind all of the problems, and Carlos hasn't known about it?"

Murdock frowned at her, handing her back her mug of coffee. She noticed the others wore similar expressions, disbelief mainly.

"I'm not defending him, guys. I'm just looking at the facts," she responded.

"She's got a point. We haven't been able to pin anything on Flores. But this guy... tell them, Face." Hannibal looked towards Face.

"He's linked to the goons that trashed our warehouse, and that have been hounding Keaton." Face continued. "Can you believe the guy had their numbers in his Rolodex?"

Damn, I should have mentioned him earlier, thought Amy, as she sipped her coffee.

"It comes down to whether Flores knew this guy was doing the dirty work," Hannibal said, tapping his top pocket and then frowning. "Face?"

Face reached into his inside jacket pocket and handed Hannibal a cigar, nodding at him.

"Man, Flores is gonna be pissed, if he doesn't know what this guy is up to," Murdock said, almost as if to himself.

"So why did Carlos drug me?" Amy asked, her voice quiet, ignoring Murdock's comment. The faith she'd had in Carlos was completely lost.

Face bent down and looked her in the eye. "Kid, you know why. Why would any man drug a woman? Flores did it, knowing who you really were; it was the only way he-."

"He was obsessed with you, Amy." Murdock interrupted Face. "And maybe this Wesley weasel guy knew it, too. For the last couple of weeks, Flores has only been concentrating on you, and this," Murdock pointed to the file, "was Wesley's only way of getting Flores' attention."

Amy let out a sigh and put a hand to her pounding head. None of this was making her feel better. She felt angry, annoyed and sad that Carlos could do this to her. And then she wanted to kick herself for being such a fool. She deserved to do ten rounds with BA. The guys had been right all along.

"Look, Amy, do you want to take a shower, have some breakfast and let this sink in?" Face took her hand. "We've cleared out your room, so we're ready to leave when you are."


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Flores hadn't cared to stay in the bedroom while his guest got dressed. He dressed quickly in a tailored suit, and hurried into his study. He had business to attend to. As he approached his desk, his eyes widened, searching the desk. Where was the file? He'd left it here, on the desk. He looked around. The study looked tidy, unusually tidy, nothing out of place.

The ranting of the woman in the corridor outside drew his attention. Glancing at the closed door, he could hear Andrew dealing with Miss Collins.He screwed his face up with disgust. Not Amy. He shook himself and continued with his search, ignoring the voices in the corridor, frantically opening the desk drawers, one by one. A knock at the door disturbed his thoughts.

"Come in," Flores called from behind his desk, his frustration rising. He looked up as his butler hurried in. "Andrew, what happened to the file that was on my desk?"

"That's what I've come to tell you about. Last night, we had," Andrew paused, his voice urgent, "a break in of sorts."

"A break in?" Flores stood up and leant on the desk. "Why didn't you tell me this last night?"

Andrew walked closer towards the desk. "Sir, I would have told you last night, but you'd brought, uh, Miss Collins back with you." Andrew raised an eyebrow, choosing not to mention Flores' own condition at the time. "Two men pretended they had come to fix the alarm which had gone off unexpectedly." Flores frowned, questioning, at his butler but Andrew shook his head and continued. "When I came in to check on them, the large black man knocked me out. After I came to, I realised they hadn't stolen anything of value. I thought you wouldn't want the police involved and cleared up the mess the best I could."

"Who were they? Did you recognise them?"

"The large black man had a distinctive haircut, but I hadn't seen him before. The other man, well, I knew at the time I'd seen him before, but with the confusion of the alarm, I couldn't place him. But he was Miss Phillips' chauffeur."

The large black man was probably this BA, Amy's so called bodyguard that had been keeping tabs on her. Flores had seen him a couple of times. He banged his fist down on to the desk. That explained how they had gotten to her so quickly.

"I'm sorry." Flores raised an eyebrow in concern. "Are you okay, Andrew?" he asked, realising he'd been deep in thought for a minute. "I mean you must have suffered a nasty blow."

"Yes, Sir, I'm fine. Nothing a couple of aspirins won't fix." Andrew nodded, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sorry, I feel such a fool for letting them in."

"It wasn't your fault," Flores said firmly, unable to hide his anger, his face tense and fists clenched. He wasn't angry with Andrew; he wanted these men to pay. How dare they violate his home? "When Mr Mason turns up, show him through and then take the rest of the day off." Flores sat down behind his desk. He could see his butler was about to argue. Flores calmed his tone, "Andrew, I insist. You deserve it."

Andrew nodded and started to leave.

"Oh, one last thing, the phones were out, but I've had someone working on it all night and they finished fixing them this morning."

Flores nodded. "Thank you, Andrew. You may leave."

Once his butler had left the study, Flores rose from his desk and walked over to his closet, opening the large doors. Nothing looked out of place there. He then checked the filing cabinets. As he flicked through the drawers, he frowned. Files G through K were missing. Why an earth would they steal only those files? They only concerned companies he was negotiating on. He shook his head.

Was there a link between these companies and Amy Allen? Flores could understand the intruders taking the file on Amy. Although it annoyed him, he'd read enough of it before he had to leave for the charity ball. He had hoped to digest some of the information more thoroughly today, however. And he wanted so desperately to see her face again. There were so many questions he wanted to ask Amy Allen.

He forced his thoughts back to the missing files. G through K. He knew exactly which company files were missing, and whom he'd left to deal with them.

Flores glanced at his watch, checking what time he had before his appointment showed. He picked up his phone and dialled.

* * *

"Okay, 'Mason' you say... Thank you. You've been very helpful. Goodbye." Flores put the phone down, one of many calls he'd made this morning. There was a knock at the study door, and he looked at his watch. An hour had passed without him realising it.

"Come in," he called. His eyes narrowed and underneath his desk he stretched out his fingers.

A short stocky man in a business suit entered the study, carrying a file under his arm.

"Please sit down, Wesley," Flores said from behind his desk, holding out his hand. He kept his mannerisms calm and polite, but inside his anger raged. The phone calls and their findings had helped fuel this anger. He noticed Wesley was nervous; sweat already appearing around his hairline. Not often you get called to your boss's home on the weekend, Flores thought, folding his hands and placing them under his chin.

Wesley sat in the chair opposite him, as directed, and the tight plastic over the fabric creaked under his weight. He jerked, almost as if he thought he were in the wrong chair.

Flores waved a hand at him.

Wesley nodded and smiled at Flores, relaxing into the chair, placing the file on his lap.

"How long have you worked for me, Wesley?" Flores looked him straight in the eye. He picked up a pen and twiddled it between his fingers.

Wesley broke the eye contact, nervously glancing around the room, confused by the question. "Er, about six months, Sir."

"Six months too long!" Flores' tone changed, becoming harsh and cold.

"Wh, what do you mean?" Wesley stuttered.

Flores laughed coldly at him. "Wesley, you think I don't know what goes on in my own office?"

Wesley remained quiet, but tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair.

"Last night, five files were stolen from my study. These are companies that are in negotiations, at your suggestion. These are companies that I've asked you to handle, partly because you found them."

"Which companies?" Wesley asked nervously.

"Well, let's start with Keaton Hardware Supplies."

Wesley grimaced and he clenched his right hand into a fist. "I'm trying real hard, Mr Flores, but the old man won't sell his company."

Flores leant forward over his desk, his voice low but firm. "How do you mean, _real hard_? Explain it to me."

"Well, you know. I'm handling it as I thought you'd-."

"You think I send in goons to rough up an old man and his business?" Flores' voice rose. "Is that how you think I operate?" Flores abruptly stood up from his desk, not removing his eyes off Wesley.

Wesley swallowed and stuttered, looking up at Flores, "I, I thought that was how you did business," Wesley wiped his forehead with his handkerchief, "and it would have worked, too, if Keaton hadn't gone and hired The A-Team."

"The A-Team?" Flores asked, his tone still angry.

"Yeah, yeah." Wesley sounded like an excited puppy, obviously thinking this was going to score him points. "After finding out the woman was a reporter, I checked out Mr Phillips." He handed Flores the file. "His real name is John Smith, better known as Hannibal Smith from the A-Team. And Keaton hired them."

Flores took the file, rubbing his forehead as he quickly read some of the notes in it. Not as detailed as the file on Amy, but enough. Flores knew exactly who they were and what they were about; he'd read the papers. And had the girl been their way in, to get close to him? Had he fallen for a honey trap?

Flores brought his concentration back to Wesley; his anger raging, his voice rose. "Is this where it started, with Keaton's business? You were pushing the old man so far he sought help?" Flores swept his arm across his desk, knocking off anything in its path, displaying his full anger now. "You're a bigger fucking moron than I thought!"

"But I was doing it for your business, Mr Flores." Wesley cowered in his chair, his hands clutching tightly at the armrests. Flores could see the whites of his knuckles. Flores sneered, enjoying the fear he was putting this jerk through.

"My business!" Flores stepped around his desk and grabbed the petrified man by the collar, lifting him from the chair."Can't you see I don't need to go around screwing over small businesses just so that I can buy them out? You moron!" Flores shoved Wesley back in the chair and paced in front of him. "I run a legitimate business. You've made me look a fool. Blackened my name and that of the Flores Corporation. No one will want to do business with my company again if this gets out. What did you think you were doing? I'm not some millionaire gangster."

"I, I, I thought it was how you would want things operated."

"You thought you'd get a fucking promotion!" Flores circled around Wesley, who remained seated, nervously watching him, like a cornered animal. "Thought I'd notice you, huh? Well, you've got my full attention now, Wesley Mason."

Wesley gulped. His eyes were following Flores' every move around the study.

"And when I said look into the Phillips' business, you thought I meant rough them up too, did you?" Flores seethed. "I wanted you to make sure the company was legitimate, that the girl had money and wasn't after mine." Flores let out a cold chuckle. "And if you'd done as I'd asked, neither of us would be in this mess. If you'd investigated Phillips' company properly, you'd have found out it was a phony. But instead you sent in your fucking hounds to do your dirty work." Flores leant in, putting his face up close to Wesley, and spoke through gritted teeth. "Who nearly, very nearly, came close to hurting her. If he'd laid one finger on her..." Flores held one finger up in front of Wesley's nose and then stood up straight, moving away from him. Wesley cowered in the chair, sweat beading around his hairline.

"But surely now, it doesn't matter. She's a reporter," Wesley stammered, trying to reason. "You saw my file on her, didn't you?"

"Yes, I saw your file."

"You were paying so much attention to her-."

"And not you!" Flores interrupted him, raising an eyebrow. This is what it came down to, the moron wanted my attention.

"I, I thought you'd be interested to know who she really was." Wesley stood up.

"Oh, I did find it interesting, Wesley, thank you." Flores turned his back to Wesley. "Two weeks, too late, however."

"The whore was probably after a story," Wesley scoffed.

Instantly, Flores turned and backhanded Wesley. Stunned, Wesley fell back into the chair, putting the back of his hand to the corner of his mouth, feeling the trickle of blood.

As soon as he hit the chair, Flores bore down on him, pulling Wesley up by his collar. Wesley's eyes widened as he looked into the cold hard eyes of Flores. Sweat poured from him now.

"Do not call her that," Flores spat. He was angry she'd lied but this moron was certainly not going to bad mouth her.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Realising that the team wanted to head to the warehouse as quickly as possible, Amy had tried to hurry getting herself together at the hotel. The guys had been wary about her taking any painkillers for her throbbing head, so she'd showered, hoping that this would help to clear her headache. But she hadn't been able to face breakfast.

Now, Amy quietly helped Murdock box up anything salvageable, or reusable, per Face's request. There would always be another scam where they could come in handy. Face and Hannibal looked through the files that Murdock had stolen the night before. BA was out, but she wasn't sure where as she'd been in the shower when he'd left the hotel.

Hannibal and Face had been reading the files all morning, as well as all night, as far as she could tell. One of them would occasionally shake their head and turn another page. Face was sighing a lot. Hannibal was probably on something like his third cigar. Not a good habit for first thing in the morning. She could tell they were discouraged with their findings, but they didn't seem to want to admit defeat yet.

They were determined, too determined. They wanted something on Carlos more than anything now, because he'd drugged her.

The four of them worked quietly, not really talking much. The team just concentrated on what they were doing and getting it done. The events of last night had given them all a sombre feeling.

Maybe they thought she blamed them for putting her in such a dangerous position, that they should have gotten her out sooner? But she didn't. She would do it again if she had to. They'd proven how good they were and that she could trust them, because as promised, the team had gotten her out of there. She just couldn't remember anything about a helicopter, which frustrated the hell out of Murdock. And Face for that matter; apparently he'd been a real hero. She bet they'd all played a hero in some way last night. She'd seen how they operated in Mexico, rescuing Al.

Her ankle was starting to feel better, but however hard she tried, she couldn't remember how she'd done it. She shook herself. Maybe that was a good thing, being unable to remember how scared she might have actually been.

She stopped for a moment and watched the three of them. Maybe it was the way they worked. Everything that could have been said on the matter had been, and now they were just getting on with the job. Maybe she'd have to learn not to brood on things, like she tended to do, like she was doing right now.

Suddenly their concentration was broken by a screech of rubber on blacktop outside the warehouse. They all ran to the window, watching BA's van as it skidded to a stop.

BA jumped out of the van and ran towards the warehouse.

"Hannibal! You gotta hear this!" BA was shouting. "It's not good, man, but you gotta hear it."

Face and Hannibal headed for the front door. Amy dropped the box she was holding and followed, Murdock right behind her. The air was filled with the smell of burnt rubber as all four of them hurried towards BA.

"I just got something from the bug in his office," BA said, panting, pointing towards the van. He looked anxious.

"Okay, let's hear it," Hannibal said.

"Hannibal, I don't think Amy should hear this." BA stood in front of Amy, blocking her path as Murdock and Face passed him, heading for the van.

"Why, what is it, BA? Come on," Amy protested but BA was shaking his head at Hannibal. Amy rolled her eyes. "Hannibal, Carlos drugged _me_ remember? I want to hear it." She glanced back at BA, narrowing her eyes. "Whatever it is," she said sternly.

Hannibal looked at BA, who shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think a lady should hear it."

"Oh, come on." Amy continued her protest. She wanted to slap him, on the arm of course, but thought better of it. Instead she glared at Hannibal.

Hannibal hesitated for a moment. "Okay, kid. But you were warned."

Amy smiled at Hannibal and headed for the van. Hannibal shrugged at BA, who shook his head. As they got into the van, and took their places, Face was already rewinding the tape.

"Quick, we ain't got much time," BA growled at Face.

"It's rewinding, BA," Face replied, raising an eyebrow, and then turned his attention to the tape as it clicked, coming to a stop. "It's ready." He cocked an eyebrow at the group. "Everyone sitting comfortably?"

"Face, make a copy as we listen," Hannibal said, glancing at BA, who was flexing his hands into fists.

It was unusual for a man that always looked calm, fearless, and Amy caught BA's tension.

Face nodded, setting up another tape before starting the original.

As they listened to the conversation of that morning in Carlos' study, Amy put her hand to her mouth at the mention of the other woman. Had he taken his anger out on her? She shook her head, hoping not. His tone was controlled so it was hard to tell how angry he really was.

As the butler relayed last night's intrusion, Murdock nodded at BA.

"Good job, big guy." Murdock patted him on the shoulder. "Sounds like he only got a bit of a headache." BA just growled back.

"Faceman, you can fast forward, Mason don't come in for another hour," BA said. Face nodded, forwarding the tape, grimacing as it squealed in the background. "Flores' on the phone for about an hour, digging up dirt on that Mason guy," BA confirmed.

Face played the tape again and it started up in the middle of a heated conversation. BA nodded to Face. "Here's fine."

As they listened to Wesley and Carlos' conversation, Amy leant further forward, towards the tape, listening intently.

"Wesley was behind the trouble with Keaton's. Carlos knew nothing about it," Amy said as the tape ran. Hannibal gently nodded to her and Face gave a wan smile.

Their attention was quickly brought back to the tape as Carlos let out a cry in anger, followed by a crash. The recording became muffled.

"The bug musta fell on the floor," BA said as they all strained to listen. "But I tweaked the recording, it should clear." As he spoke, the recording cleared and the conversation could be heard more distinctly.

"I thought you tapped the phone," Amy whispered to Murdock.

"No, I bugged the office, sweetheart." Murdock winked at her. "Just put it near the phone."

As they listened, Amy felt her heart starting to beat faster and her throat tightening, as the tension built between Carlos and Wesley. Wesley had been the one to research the file, to get Carlos' attention. She gasped as she heard Carlos smack Wesley for calling her a whore.

"Do not call her that." Carlos' rage was clear in his voice. He was almost unrecognisable to Amy. She'd never seen a hint that he could be like this and found it unbelievable. Amy watched the tape turning, listening, surprised by Carlos' actions. Was this obsession? Had it gone so far for Carlos? Even though he knew she was a fraud, he wouldn't have a bad word said about her. She felt confused about how she should feel about him, about all of it. He drugged you, Amy, remember that.

"I'm, I'm sorry. I won't call her that again." Wesley sounded panicked, his voice faltering.

"You're right there."

Amy closed her eyes in a silent prayer, and then quickly opened them, trying to hide any fear she had from the team. Carlos is going to kill him. No, no, surely not. She could see why BA had said she shouldn't hear it. But she had to. She kept her eyes on the tape, listening, not looking at the team.

"I'm sorry, Mr Flores. I, I promise, I won't let you down again."

There was another sound, harder, deeper sound. A punch. Wesley let out a cry in pain.

Amy winced, but gathered her composure.

Wesley was coughing, and his voice barely audible, possibly by a bloody lip. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Terror laced the man's voice now.

As if it would block out the sound, relieve her anxiety, Amy forced her eyes to shut tight.

"Please don't do this, Carlos," she said quietly. "Please Carlos, don't." She couldn't look at any of the team, just stared back at the tape.

"I'll deal with the girl, but don't think you're going to get to tell the tale, Wesley Mason." Anger and hatred obvious as Carlos raged. "But first, I need to clear up your mess!"

"Mr Flores, I'm sorry," Wesley was pleading, begging. Petrified.

"Starting with you."

"No, please, don't, I prom-."

Amy jumped and cried out, horrified, as a loud gunshot cut Wesley's terrified pleas short. She turned and buried her head into Murdock's neck. Murdock put his arm around her and held her tightly. Tears streamed down her face, hidden in Murdock's jacket. No, she wasn't supposed to hear this sort of thing.

They continued to listen to the tape. Silence, rustling, but no voices. But Amy couldn't concentrate on listening anymore, thoughts whizzed round her head. It's their fault the man is dead. Wesley is dead. She couldn't stop thinking it. Wesley had done something terribly wrong, but did he deserve to die?

She quickly wiped at her tears. Need to be strong, especially in front of the team.

"Hannibal, maybe he's still alive. We should try…" Amy said, suddenly hopeful.

"Kid," Face placed a hand on her knee, gently shaking his head, "he's dead."

In the background, the tape still ran. They could hear Carlos make a telephone call and before long, it sounded like more men were in his study.

"Sounds like he's got his bodyguards in to do his laundry," Face speculated.

"I want a car ready, and as many men as you can get," Carlos ordered. "We're going to pay the A-Team a visit."

"Hannibal, as soon as I heard that, I was out of there." BA broke the silence. "But I kept the tape running; you'll hear when it goes outta range."

Hannibal nodded and turned his attention back to the tape.

Carlos was in the background, his voice raised, talking to someone. "I want the girl, but nobody, nobody, harms a hair on her head."

Carlos' angry voice drawing her attention, Amy turned her head, watching at the tape again, then glancing at each of the men in the van.

"Don't worry, Amy, he won't get near you," BA assured her, cupping a fist.

"And what about him?" Someone was speaking to Carlos. "Usual place, boss?"

The recording started to crackle and sound fuzzy.

"That's it. Went outta range just there," BA said as Face stopped the tape.

"So, I get the impression Flores is on his way," Hannibal said, frowning, looking at his team.

"Yeah, and I say we ain't got long either," BA growled.

Hannibal leant forward in his seat. "Face, hide that tape somewhere safe and then move the van."

Face nodded at Hannibal and started to rewind the original tape. "Here, you can have this copy," he said, taking a tape out of the machine and tossing it to Hannibal, who caught it, smiled and placed it in his top pocket.

"Right, let's get a move on." Hannibal opened his door, just about to get out of the van. "You alright, kid?"

Amy nodded, wiping any last signs of tears away. Murdock kept an arm around her shoulders, hugging her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Amy replied weakly. She cleared her throat, realising her voice sounded shaky, "I just can't believe he would do that."

* * *

"Get the rifles, BA," Hannibal ordered. BA nodded and headed for the back of the van. Chewing on a cigar, Hannibal entered into the warehouse. He had to think and fast. Where was the best place for Amy?

Hannibal saw the files they'd been looking through and closed them, putting them to one side. It wasn't worth going through them now.

Once Face had hid the tape, he moved the van out of sight, and then followed the rest of the team into the warehouse. As he walked through the door, BA handed him a rifle.

"Thanks, BA."

"Face, can I have a word?" The two stepped aside to confer, Face nodding as Hannibal spoke. BA and Murdock hurried around the warehouse readying for Flores, Amy assisting with whatever she got told to do.

As Hannibal finished with Face, he slapped him on the back and spoke loudly to the team. "Right, I want everybody to…" Hannibal stopped and turned to look out the window. Three limousines were pulling up outside the warehouse. They all watched. Amy froze on the spot almost dropping a box she was holding. "Damn it," Hannibal muttered under his breath.

"What's your plan, Hannibal?" Amy asked.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25 **

"Damn, I was hoping to have a little more time," Hannibal said calmly. He put on his leather gloves, watching the limousines closely, as Flores and six bodyguards stepped out.

Placing the box down on a desk, Amy started to take a step slowly, hesitantly, towards the front door.

"Face, take Amy out the back," Hannibal ordered, catching her movement in the corner of his eye. "Get her as far away from here as possible." Hannibal realised that if they were overpowered and Flores got hold of Amy, they wouldn't be able to defend her. She was best off not being anywhere near Flores.

Face nodded and approached Amy.

"No, Hannibal, I want to stay," Amy protested, moving away from Face and closer to Hannibal. She watched Flores, as they all did, outside of the building. "I want to hear what he's got to say."

"Where is she?" Flores called from where he stood. "Amy, I want to talk to you." His tone was firm, but his facial expression was hard and cold. He was trying to hide his anger.

"_Now_, Lieutenant." He ignored Amy's request, knowing she was in danger, serious danger. This wasn't about solving Keaton's problems anymore, this was about protecting Amy. It was a safer bet to buy Face some time to get Amy out of here.

"Come on, Amy." Face grabbed her hand and pulled her away from where she was standing.

"No, Face." She tried removing her hand, but Face grabbed her wrist and firmly pulled her into the back office. The team could hear Amy's protests.

"Guys, keep your rifles out of sight," Hannibal ordered, hiding his by the desk. Then, lighting a cigar, he looked back out of the window, watching Flores issuing orders to his men.

"Let's send this sucker to jail." BA growled, keeping his eye on Flores' men, too, and taking up position by the front door.

Hannibal grinned, glancing at BA momentarily, and then turned his attention back to outside the warehouse.

"Murdock, have you got that camera running?" Hannibal asked as he watched Flores.

"Getting it now, Colonel," Murdock replied, checking the camera over and ensuring there was a tape in it ready to record. "Damn, the mirror's cracked. I can't put it back."

"In that case, handle the camera, Captain."

* * *

Hannibal could be heard issuing various orders to Murdock and BA as Face took Amy through to the back office, his rifle slung over his shoulder. He held her wrist tightly, pulling at her to follow.

"Come on, Amy!"

"Face, no, let go of me," Amy protested, trying to stop inside Hannibal's office and pull her arm out of Face's grip. She was adamant. "I want to face him."

"No you don't, Amy. You don't need to do this," Face replied sternly.

He swung her round, so he could look her straight in the eye. She still tried to fight against him, but he was too strong for her. "Trust me, Amy. I saw Flores last night. Not Hannibal, not BA or Murdock. I saw him," he jabbed a finger into his chest, "I pissed him off, rescuing you from him. And I can tell you, you were in danger." Face looked at her. His expression tense, serious, no lies in his eyes this time. He was telling the truth. "Think about it, Amy. Once he found out who you really were, he realised you wouldn't sleep with him, unless he drugged you."

Amy didn't respond, digesting Face's words. She stopped pulling against him.

Shaking his head, he loosened his grip and quickly but gently checked her wrists. "Amy, I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"No, no you didn't." She took her hand away so that he couldn't study it. She could still feel his grip on her wrist, and if he'd left a mark she didn't want him to see it. He hadn't meant it.

He reached out, placing his fingers under hers, asking for trust as he spoke. "If Hannibal hadn't given the order," he glanced at the door, "I would have taken you out of there anyway." Feeling Amy take his hand, Face turned, giving her a gentle tug. With some hesitance she followed. He glanced at her as he walked. "This is the only way we can keep you safe. You heard what he did to Wesley. Who's to say what he'll do to you?"

Amy nodded. Her heart ached with sadness. "He looked like a different person just now. I didn't recognise him." Amy dropped her head and then looked back up at Face. "He looked so cold. Frighteningly cold. I just can't believe-."

"I know," Face's voice softened, "but you have to believe me. This is for your safety." He seemed sincere and then his tone lightened, cocking an eyebrow, a cheeky smile. "See, there was a reason for this back door, after all."

Rolling her eyes, she gave him a weak smile. Her mind was crammed with thoughts about Carlos and how wrong she'd been.

"Pays to plan for every eventuality, kid," Face said more jovially, as he started to open the door that led outside to the back of the warehouse, taking the rifle off of his shoulder.

Still holding Face's hand, Amy suddenly stopped and turned her head towards the direction she heard a voice. It was different, colder and harsher, than she was used to. Carlos was in the warehouse.

* * *

"Where's the girl? I want her," Flores shouted as he entered the warehouse, his bodyguards following. "Don't hide her from me. I'll find her," he said, clenching his fists.

BA and Murdock had moved into strategic positions within the warehouse and stood firm. If they were armed, you wouldn't know it. Murdock stood with the camera on his shoulder, aiming it at Flores. Standing near the front, Hannibal watched as Flores approached him. Only a desk separated them.

"Flores," Hannibal said firmly, taking out the cigar from his mouth. "You lost that right, as soon as you drugged her. You're not going anywhere near Amy."

"Where is she? And where's pretty boy?" Flores glanced around the warehouse, searching. "Is she screwing him?" Flores spat out his words with anger.

"Now, Flores, you don't mean that about Amy." Hannibal could see Flores had lost his control, his charm and possibly his dignity. His face was so tense with rage he looked gaunt in his cheeks. Hannibal tried not to smirk. He's so angry he's going to make a mistake.

"Amy," Flores snorted in disgust. "At least she didn't lie to me about that."

"It's not Amy's fault, Flores," Hannibal tried to reason, keeping his voice calm but firm. "I put her up to it. I made her lie to you. If you've a bone to pick, it's with me." If Murdock was right about the obsession, then Hannibal needed to take some heat off of Amy.

But Flores just glared at him, cold and hard. His eyes looked watery with hatred and anger.

"I've got nothing to say to you, Smith." The corner of Hannibal's mouth twitched as he heard his name. "Yes I know who you are. Amy belongs to me now and I won't stop till I've got her. Not even the _A-Team_ will stop me."

"Wanna bet, sucker?" Edging forward, BA growled, unable to keep silent, raising a clenched fist. A bodyguard moved closer to BA, but he stood firm and just scowled at him.

"I haven't got all day for this," Flores said, fists still clenched, coldly glancing at BA.

"Yeah, well, neither have we, pal. So if you'd just come quietly, bucko," Murdock added, keeping a watchful eye on Flores' bodyguards, making sure every single one of them got on camera. "We can have this wrapped up by lunchtime." Murdock looked from Flores to Hannibal. "Hey, Hannibal, can I have a Belly Busters?"

Hannibal gave Murdock a smirk and then turned back to Flores.

Flores smashed his hand down on a desk. "Damn it, where is she, Smith? Quit stalling me."

"Now, now," Murdock muttered scornfully. "Where is the magic word?"

"Who is this wise guy?" Flores asked angrily. "What's with the fucking camera?" Flores clicked his fingers and one of his bodyguards approached Murdock. Murdock just grinned at the man and put the camera in his face.

"Oh that, didn't you know, I'm an actor? Like to get all my best parts on film," Hannibal replied, grinning. "You're going to love my next scene."

"You're looking good, Colonel. Looking good." Murdock was ignoring the bodyguard, smiling at him, unthreatened and aiming the camera back on Flores and Hannibal.

"You know, you were starting to look like a good guy, Flores," Hannibal said, gently shaking his head, cigar held in his fingers.

With hatred in his eyes, Flores glared at him, impatiently drumming his fingers on the desk.

"We couldn't find a thing on you. You even had Amy convinced. Hell, I was starting to think maybe I was barking up the wrong tree," Hannibal kept the eye contact, "until last night."

"I shouldn't have drugged her, is that what you mean?" Flores said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. BA growled at Flores' words, punching a fist into his hand.

"Yeah, that was low, Flores. Amy didn't deserve that. And knowing Amy, she might even have forgiven you." Puffing on his cigar, Hannibal blew out the smoke into Flores' direction. "But what you did this morning was unforgivable."

Flores raised an eyebrow and gave a smirk. "Tell me, what did I do this morning, Smith?"

Hannibal had him rattled and knew it. "He didn't deserve to die, Flores."

"Who?" Flores still wasn't prepared to admit anything. His tone implied it.

Maybe he thinks I'm bluffing? Hannibal grinned knowing he wasn't.

"Wesley Mason." There, he caught the brief surprised reaction in Flores' expression, before it turned back to its cold hardness. "He did some bad things, but I never would have killed him. That's not how we," Hannibal gestured to BA and Murdock, "the A-Team, do business, Flores. We'd have sent him to jail like the rest of the scum we nail."

"How'd you know all this anyway?" Glancing from Hannibal to his bodyguards as if one had leaked the information, Flores narrowed his eyes. Hannibal tried to hide his grin. Flores tapped a finger on the desk, his voice raised, "Wesley Mason screwed up. He didn't understand how I ran my business."

"And for that you killed him?"

"No!" Protesting quickly, Flores' eyes flicked to the camera Murdock was holding.

"You're a killer, Flores," Hannibal provoked, ignoring the denial.

Flores chuckled and leant over the desk towards Hannibal. "Just let me talk to Amy," Flores' voice calmed. He sounded confident, calculated and spoke disdainfully. "I'll explain to her. I'm not explaining myself to you, Smith."

"What will you do with Amy, once you have her? Will you get as angry with her as you did with Wesley?"

"No!"

"I don't trust you, Flores. Never have."

"I don't care whether you trust me or not, Smith. Just hand over the girl." Growing impatient Flores swept a hand through his hair. "All I'm going to do is talk to her." He looked agitated, fists clenched, as the rage burned inside of him.

"Like you talked to Wesley Mason, huh?" Murdock said, the camera aimed at Flores, recording every word he spoke.

"Shut up! I didn't kill him!"

Hannibal raised an eyebrow and puffed on his cigar; cool as a cucumber, holding his ground, to fuel Flores' frustration. "No, Flores, we don't believe you. You have to pay and so you're going to jail."

Flores laughed. "What? And how are you going to do that, Smith? There are three of you, to my six."

"Well, I have this for a start." Hannibal reached inside his top pocket and grabbed the tape. He waved it in air to goad Flores. "I'm the one who asked her to get close to you. We couldn't get to you any other way to place a bug in your office. It's been there all this time Flores, and this morning, we recorded you," he pointed at Flores, "murdering Wesley Mason."

"Wesley really did fuck up, didn't he?" Flores fumed. "Picked on a company that had big enough balls to go and hire the A-Team."

* * *

"Head for the van," Face said as he opened the back door.

Amy instantly screamed as a fist came flying at Face. Her heart was suddenly in her mouth.

The punch missed its target as Face instantly ducked, pushing Amy behind him.

Face groaned, "Oh boy, why me?" He swung his rifle off his shoulder, but as soon as it was in his hand, the bodyguard kicked at it. The rifle flew out of Face's grip and onto the ground.

Carlos' man attacked. Face stood firm and punched the man square on the chin. The goon stumbled backwards. Amy gasped. Face grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the doorway. As the heavy came running back at him, he stood in front of her, pushing her back as he ducked another punch.

The goon tried again to grab Amy. She shrieked. Face attacked.

Slowly she edged backwards, until her back was up against a wall, watching the two men fight. Reaching behind her, she tried the door. Locked. A one way exit. She cursed in frustration. Face kept glancing at the rifle. It was kicked closer towards her as the two men grappled.

Face struggled with his attacker as Amy tried to reach the rifle but the two men kept getting in her way. Too nervous to move. Heart pounding with adrenalin from fear. She searched the ground. Was there anything else lying around she could use to knock out the bodyguard?

She winced. Face got a punch to the midsection and groaned. Carlos' man was taller and heavier than him. Hardly a fair fight, yet, he stood up and continued the fight.

Then, an opportunity arose and she nervously grabbed the rifle. Anxiously she stood with the butt of the rifle in her hand. She daren't point it at anyone, her hands trembled, her heart raced. Face was too busy to be interrupted, ducking punches. Throwing his own. Hitting his target, hard, exactly where to cause the most damage. She looked for an opportune moment to assist Face. But the two men were moving so fast, she feared missing the bodyguard and whacking Face.

Face finally got the tired staggering bodyguard by the scruff of his neck. He quickly released him to throw a double fisted punch and sent the goon into some garbage cans and boxes that were outside the warehouse. The man lay there unconscious. Face dusted himself off as he ran towards Amy. She handed him the rifle.

"Thanks, kid," he said and firmly took her hand.

"Are you all right?" She gathered her senses, watching him breathing hard to get his breath back.

"Yeah, yeah," Face replied putting the back of his hand to his lip to check if there was blood and winced.

They both started to run towards BA's van. Amy glanced behind her to see the man still unconscious.

"Get in. I've got to get you out of here." Face opened the passenger door and helped Amy in. He closed the door, ran around to the other side and jumped in, rummaging under the seat. As she watched, Amy could feel her pounding heart starting to slow down, although her anxiety wasn't easing. She tried to take deep breaths to calm herself.

"BA always hides a set of keys underneath the seat. Not exactly original but in an emergency, it allows for a quick getaway." Smiling, Face jingled the keys in front of Amy.

He placed the key into the ignition. As he turned the key, Amy jumped and cried out. The bloody face of the bodyguard had appeared at her window. He quickly opened the door and grabbed Amy's arm. But in her struggle, with Face leaning across and assisting, she slammed the door on the goon's arm.

"Bitch!" The goon cursed, pulling his arm away and shaking it. Amy quickly shut the door and locked it. Her whole body trembled and her heart was racing again, pounding inside her chest.

Before the man could recover and contemplate anything else, Face just smiled and put his foot on the accelerator. The back wheels screeched as the van sped off._  
_


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

The atmosphere in the warehouse increased in intensity. Not a man moved, except Flores. Hannibal watched as he raged. Yeah, Wesley really did screw up.

"I've been so fucking stupid. Blinded. Blinded by a fucking girl." Flores punched his fist on the desk and then he looked up into Hannibal's eyes. Flores' eyes narrowed, pure hatred filling them. "Well, now I'm going to have to clean up the mess that stupid bastard Wesley created."

Hannibal shook his head.

"What is it, Smith?" Flores glanced at his watch and then stared at Hannibal.

"You're in so deep now, and yet you had nothing to do with Keaton's problems," Hannibal replied, looking him in the eye.

"Keaton? Oh that stupid bastard," Flores spat. "He's part of cleaning up Wesley's mistakes. Once I've finished with Keaton and his company, he'll wish he'd never heard of the A-Team, let alone hired them."

Suddenly there was the noise of screeching tyres outside. Flores turned and looked out of the window. They all watched BA's van race away from the warehouse, smoke billowing as it hurtled onto the road, the back end flying out as it turned a sharp left. Hannibal couldn't hide his smile now.

"Nice, Face."

* * *

"Are you alright?" Face finally asked once he'd got his own senses back.

The van was now travelling within the speed limits of the roads. As far as either of them could tell, they weren't being followed, so they slowed to the legal limit, avoiding unnecessary attention. Being pulled over by the police was the last thing they wanted in their bid for escape. But even though she was sure they were safe, Amy noticed Face constantly glancing in the mirrors.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?" Amy asked. She could see he was concentrating on the road ahead and behind, and with the back of his hand he was still nursing the cut lip.

"Yeah, yeah," Face said, turning to her.

Amy frowned. "Oh, you've got a cut above your eye," she said as she pointed.

Face ran his fingers over his eyebrow and winced. He quickly checked the cut in the rear view mirror. "Ah, it's nothing. Just a scratch."

Amy rolled her eyes and went to the back of the van to fetch her purse, where she'd luckily left it. She sat herself back down in the front seat and rummaged in her purse for a tissue. "Here, use this," she said, handing him the tissue.

"Thanks," Face smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back. Murdock had been right, when you really needed him, Face was someone you could rely on, and trust.

"You really do know how to fight," Amy said, raising an eyebrow, impressed by what she'd just seen. "That guy was nearly twice your size. Would have been a fairer fight with BA."

"Yeah," Face grimaced, "I do usually try to avoid the bigger ones where possible, leave them to BA."

Amy laughed. "Yes, I think I've heard BA say something about you being their meal ticket to better hotel rooms."

They both laughed, lightening the mood in the van. Then Amy sobered. "Face, you sure he didn't…?" She looked him in the eye, searching for reassurance. He'd been truthful with her so far, what about this? He glanced at her and then back at the road.

"No, he didn't," Face replied firmly. Glancing back, he tilted his head, with a more serious expression. "But, truth be told, I don't like to think about if I'd been ten minutes later."

Amy put her hand to her mouth. "Damn it, I can't remember," she said, banging her hand against her forehead in frustration. "Face," her voice was sincere, "you probably saved my life last night."

"We never leave a man behind, Amy," Face said, smiling at her.

"Is that the A-Team motto?" Amy chuckled.

"Something like that."

Amy stared out the window, watching the traffic in front. Everything seemed a mess.

"Will the others be alright?" Concern and fear laced her voice.

"Once I've dropped you off I'll go back. But I'm sure Hannibal will have Flores gift wrapped nicely for when the cops arrive. He'll even stick a bow on him."

"The cops? But isn't that dangerous for Hannibal?"

Face laughed as he gently shook his head. "Are you kidding? Hannibal likes danger. But we'll be out of there before the cops show up, trust me."

Face's words went over Amy's head. She wasn't listening, becoming deep in her own thoughts.

"I've been so stupid, haven't I?" Tears started to well in her eyes. She glanced out the side window, trying to pull herself together. Blinking her eyes a few times. She needed to be tougher than this if she was going to be accepted on the team.

"Hey, hey," Face said already noticing she was getting upset. "You did just fine, kid."

"But I really didn't think he was the guy you all warned me about. You have to believe me, he just didn't show that side of him to me."

"Maybe he never would have. Who's to say?"

"Face, the man was prepared to drug me."

"Under different circumstances then." She knew the charmer in him was trying to make her feel better and brushed his comments aside.

"I feel so stupid. So naïve. I started to lose my objectivity. That's not how a good reporter should behave." Amy pushed her hair off of her face and looking back out the side window, watching people along the sidewalk go about their everyday business.

"Amy," Face said, reaching across and touching her knee to get her attention back. "You try to see the good in people. Hannibal likes that quality in you." Face kept his eye on the road, glancing at her as he spoke. "That's one of the reasons why he's let you stick around. And besides, it's a great quality to have, especially for a reporter." Face winked at her and she rolled her eyes. "Rather than those reporter types that just want to dig up the dirt."

Amy let out a sigh. Boy, he's good. Good at telling you what you want to hear. She let silence fall in the van, let Face concentrate on the road, on his job to keep her safe. But then she became uncomfortable with the silence, thoughts of Carlos eating away at her, questions that needed answers, so she didn't let the silence stay for long.

"So where are you taking me?" she asked, noticing that they were entering a familiar area of Los Angeles.

"Your office."

"What? My office." Amy's eyes widened with shock. "Wouldn't that be like the first place Carlos would look?"

"Flores may be dangerous, and he's done some dumb things in the last twenty-four hours, but he's not that stupid. You'll be safe there." Face looked at her, stopping at a set of traffic lights. "You've got lots of people that you know surrounding you. That's why you are going to stay at your office until we say you can leave. Okay?"

"What if I don't hear from you?"

"Then, you go to the police," Face said, and then he smiled. "You'll hear from us, I swear."

Amy shook off the worried expression and nodded. "At least I can start working on my story. I'm dying to get the notes that are rattling around in my head on to paper."

"There you go, kid. Sounding like your old self again already." Amy looked him in the eye, and was sure she was seeing a smile she could trust.

She trusted them all now, their decisions and judgements more than ever. And the jazz.

The lights turned green and Face pulled the van away, taking a right. She watched him drive, almost studying him. He was still checking the mirrors regularly.

"You know, Amy. If you join the team, Hannibal won't want you to be around when we get into trouble."

"You mean the fighting."

"Yeah," Face nodded, "that'll be the condition. You stay out of the fights."

Amy nodded as he spoke. Having not enjoyed watching Face's fight, she realised she could handle that particlar condition. Witnessing that fight had given her a sickening feeling she couldn't quite put into words.

"Sometimes, it might be unavoidable, but you need to keep out of the way. Hannibal's an old fashioned type of guy. A fight is no place for a lady." Face winked at her. "He won't want to run the risk of you getting hurt. Neither will any of us, for that matter."

"Understood, Lieutenant."

Face pulled the van up outside her office. She looked up to the building. The LA Courier Express. It felt longer than two weeks since she'd walked through her office doors. Never had she been so glad to see that building.

"Amy." Face grabbed her arm as she was about to open the door.

"Yes." She stopped and turned, meeting his gaze.

"Er," Face hesitated, "you really can't remember anything from last night, right?"

"No." Amy paused, once again trying to strain her memory as if the night before would come back to her, but it didn't.

"The helicopter? Me rescuing you from Flores?"

Amy shook her head. "I can remember getting into the elevator with Carlos, that's about it. Why?"

"Er," Face hesitated, fiddling with his collar.

"Face, what is it?" Amy nervously giggled at the sight of his serious expression. No smile, just nervous serious eyes that wouldn't meet hers.

"Nothing," he shook his head, "I just wondered if you had got any of your memory back, that's all."

She shook her head. "No, I feel like a whole night has been stolen from me." She looked into his eyes, the nervousness gone. "Do you think I'll ever remember what happened last night?"

"I don't know, Amy."

Amy put her hand on the door handle and went to open the door, taking a deep breath. "You'll call me with anything else I need to know?"

"Yes, of course." He winked and then he pointed out to the direction of her office. "Now go write that story."

* * *

"Follow them!" Flores shouted at his bodyguards, pointing out the window. BA would have the tyres shot out before they could turn the ignition, but he didn't even let them leave the building. Standing in front of the door, BA had his rifle in his hand. One swift movement, the distinct click, the safety was off. No one was going anywhere.

Having placed the camera safely on some cabinets, Murdock now had his rifle in his hands, covering Flores and his bodyguards, as did Hannibal.

Amid the commotion, the front door to the warehouse opened, and a bloody and bruised bodyguard came stumbling through the door.

"Throw me the keys!" the man ordered, unaware what he was stumbling into.

Instantly, BA turned and hit the man with the butt of his rifle. "Don't think so, sucker."

The bodyguard's eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground.

Flores yelled in frustration as he thumped his hand against the desk. For a moment, he stayed there, head down. As he brought his head up, rubbing his forehead, he glanced at his watch.

"What is it Flores? Am I boring you? You keep on glancing at that damn watch of yours."

* * *

Flores waved at his guards to stand down, nodding at his chief bodyguard. Damn, he didn't have long, and this wasn't going to plan. He needed to get some control back. The guard nodded back but Flores noticed the puzzlement on some of the others' faces; a couple shrugged their shoulders but they stood back. Good, he'd explain it to them later.

"It's okay, do as he says." Flores pointed towards Hannibal. At the look Hannibal gave him, his surprise, Flores almost smirked, but he kept in check.

He reached into his pocket, fingering the bracelet. He took a deep breath.

"I want Amy to have this." Flores tossed the bracelet, wrapped in a white handkerchief, to Hannibal, who automatically caught it with one hand. Flores frowned as Hannibal still kept his rifle aimed at him, shaking out a bracelet.

Hannibal shook his head. "She won't want it." He glanced back at Flores, an eyebrow raised.

"Give it to her!"

"Okay, but she's likely to send it back to you. Unfortunately you'll be in jail to receive it."

"Jail?" Flores chuckled. Let him think that. You have no idea Smith, no idea. "If you say so, Smith."

"Okay, everyone, hands up nice and slow, where we can see them," Hannibal ordered, placing the bracelet in his top pocket.

* * *

Hannibal caught Murdock rolling his eyes at Flores. Yeah, Murdock had been right about this guy. Well, if Flores was willing to hand himself over, there was no point arguing about it. Just don't put your guard down, Hannibal, he could be waiting for us to make a mistake.

Flores' men did as they were told, slowly raising their hands, including Flores. "Check for weapons, Captain," Hannibal ordered, giving him cover with his rifle, while BA started to drag the unconscious bodyguard over to the group of men, with Flores in the middle. "Nobody try anything foolish, you hear?"

Murdock collected the guns as each bodyguard handed them over. After stashing the weapons in a filing cabinet, he came back with some rope and started to tie the men up.

With his rifle, Hannibal covered Murdock and BA as they secured each bodyguard and Flores, sitting them on chairs, back to back in a circle. Flores remained quiet but his jaw was clenched. That was one angry man, thought Hannibal.

"Flores, I didn't expect you to come so easily," Hannibal said. Something worried him. Maybe this was too easy. What was Flores planning? He got another cigar out of his pocket and bit the end off, lighting it. "I'm surprised you haven't put up much of a fight."

Flores chuckled, "I'll end this, Smith," he scoffed. "Maybe not today, but I will end this."

"What's he talking about? Man's crazy." BA looked at Hannibal, screwing up his face.

"You're going to jail! You're going to jail!" Murdock sang, pointing at Flores and then to each of his bodyguards.

"Who is this clown?" Flores asked, turning his attention to Murdock.

"He's a crazy fool, but he talks better sense than you, sucker," BA answered Flores with a scowl, tightening a rope firmly making the bodyguard wince.

"You know, Amy would have written a really nice story about you, if you hadn't had drugged her and killed Mason," Hannibal said as he checked that the rope was secure around Flores. "Now, I hope she drags your name through the mud."

* * *

"Allen!" Eldridge bellowed as he saw his reporter walk into the office. "Where the hell have you been? Who'd you think you are? Lois Lane?"

Amy raised an eyebrow. Interesting analogy, she thought as Eldridge continued to shout from his office. If only she could actually remember flying through the sky last night, albeit beneath a helicopter.

"Get your ass in my office right now! And you better have a damn good excuse for being AWOL for nearly two weeks, little lady!"

As Amy walked through the office, she could feel the eyes of every employee in her office watching her and hear the whispering. Amy didn't even dare go to her desk. She walked straight past it, noticing messages and piles of paperwork, and into Eldridge's office. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to face the music. If only BA was beside her, his presence alone would have made her feel much more confident about sweet-talking her editor. Or if Face was here, he could sweet-talk him for her.

"You been hanging around with Massey again, haven't you?" Eldridge said as Amy shut the door behind her.

"No, no, I've been undercover but I got a message through to Zachary. Didn't you get it?"

"No! This had better be good, Allen."

Amy confidently smiled, hoping it was as good as one of Face's. "Grant, trust me. It's a great story. It'll make front page."

* * *

"Did I miss the fun?" Face entered the warehouse smiling.

Murdock slapped his hand, and then frowned. "Hey, Faceman, what happened to you?" he asked, pointing to the black eye and cut lip.

Face saw the men tied to chairs in the middle of the room; his smile dropped and went up to a bodyguard. "That's what happened to me!" he said as he nudged the man's foot with his own. The bodyguard groaned, still suffering with concussion from BA's rifle butt.

Face looked at his friends and the men tied up. There wasn't a box overturned or a desk out of place. Apart from the bodyguard he'd grappled with outside earlier, no one had a cut or a bruise on them. Not even a scratch. Face frowned. "You guys don't look that roughed up. What happened here? I half expected to walk back into a brawl."

"Flores decided to come easily," Hannibal replied, glancing over at Flores, who'd remained quiet.

"Huh?" Face's eyes widened. "You mean, I get beaten, battered and bruised, all for the cause of protecting Amy," Face started his familiar rant, waving his arms about in his usual fashion, "and you guys don't even raise a fist?"

"Nope." Murdock shook his head and grinned.

"Next time, Hannibal, maybe you should send BA, huh?"

BA giggled and patted him on the back. "You sure took your time, Faceman."

"What? I haven't been that long." Face looked at his watch. "Besides, traffic was busy and Hannibal said to take her as far away for here as possible. So that's what I did."

"I'll find her," Flores said with confidence, interrupting the team's banter, still sounding undefeated.

"Oh yeah." Face stepped suddenly in front of Flores. "Well, I've got a message for you, from Amy." Face clenched his fist. "And maybe I should deliver it." Flores didn't even flinch, irritating Face. Can't even scare the bastard. He raised his fist higher.

"No! Face! It's not worth it." Murdock grabbed Face's fist.

"I wasn't going to hit him." Face turned and smiled.

"You!" Flores sneered at Face.

Face turned, pointing at himself cockily. "Who, me?"

"Face, if that's what they call you," Flores continued, his eyes narrowed, "you will be the first to fall."

"What's he talking about?" Face asked sarcastically, ignoring the man's threats and looking towards Hannibal.

Hannibal shrugged. "Flores, if you haven't noticed, you're going to jail, for a very long time. You're the one who's falling." Taking the bracelet out of his pocket, Hannibal fiddled with it, staring at it, frowning.

"Man, the fool's right." BA shook his head as he checked the ropes were secure for the final time. "He's one sandwich short of a picnic."

Murdock smiled and poked Flores with his finger. He put on his best British accent. "See, I was right after all, old chap."

Face's eyes widened, instantly recognizing the jewelry in Hannibal's hand. "Where'd you get that?"

"He wants Amy to have it," Hannibal said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, rolling his eyes in Flores' direction.

Face walked over and took it out of Hannibal's hand, giving a sarcastic smile, "May I?"

Hannibal nodded. Face walked over to Flores, and waved the bracelet in front of Flores' nose, who scowled. Face looked coldly back at him, determined to show he wasn't afraid of the creep.

"She won't want this, not after you drugged her. She wants nothing from you. Never did." With a sly smile, Face tucked the bracelet into Flores' jacket top pocket and walked away. He hated looking at him. Made him want to do something he shouldn't, like punch him.

"She would have come with me last night, even if I hadn't had drugged her," Flores sneered.

Face stopped and turned. That bastard is still obsessed with her. "Well, you'll never know _now_, will you, Flores?" He smirked.

"She's mine!" Flores growled.

Face held his hand up and walked out of the warehouse. Moments later, he rushed back in the door, looking fraught, thumbing in the direction out of the door. "Ah, Hannibal?"

Sirens could be heard in the distance. All four men looked out of the warehouse. They couldn't see the vehicles yet.

"My butler was ordered to call the military if I didn't call him at a given time." Flores glanced at his watch the best he could with his hands being tied. "I thought they'd be interested to know the whereabouts of the A-Team," he scoffed, "They act fast, don't they?"

Hannibal chuckled. The jazz was now flickering in his eyes. Cigar between his teeth. "Hear that guys? He's called the military."

"Oh, Hannibal just loves leaving presents for Lynch to clear up," Murdock said, grabbing the camera and leaving the tape on a desk.

"Yeah, Lynch being the kind-hearted guy he is, he'll just love dealing with this before he comes chasing after us," Face added, grinning. All four men sprang into action. They'd been here many times before; they knew the drill.

"Man, he'll be as frustrated as hell," BA giggled, grabbing his rifle.

"Let's get out of here, guys; before Lynch does show up." Hannibal nodded to his team and all four men headed out of the warehouse, leaving Flores and his men tied together. The cassette tape was stuck to the desk and beside it lay a message.

'Please play me, I'm evidence that Carlos Flores murdered Wesley Mason.'

_tbc...one more chapter to go!_


	27. Chapter 27 Epilogue

**Chapter 27 - Epilogue**

"You know, the kid did good. Front page on the Flores story." Face looked up from behind the newspaper he was reading. "Can you believe Flores is trying to claim that he was framed?" Face shook his head. "There's no way he's going to win this, fancy lawyer or not."

"Another bad guy taken to the cleaners, by the notorious A-Team," Murdock said in his newsreader tone. Face grinned. Hannibal smiled, too.

All four members of the team sat in the van, driving through the streets of LA. They were on their way to meet Amy for lunch.

"And she's got a side story on the A-Team. 'Does LA Have Its Very Own Superheroes?'" Face smiled as he read the article. "You know, Hannibal, this might even get the army's attention." Hannibal frowned. Face shook his head. "I mean, they might take note that we aren't the bad guys. Maybe someone will look into our case," Face continued, glancing from the paper to Hannibal. "Her articles are well written, without implicating herself in anyway. The story's told like she's interviewed our clients, keeping them anonymous, too."

"Is that so?" Hannibal said, raising an eyebrow. He still hadn't been sure about the idea of printing the story. "BA, this is it." Hannibal pointed to a diner with parking outside.

BA pulled the van over as Hannibal directed, parking it outside the diner.

"Yeah, she kept Murdock out of it, too."

"What?" Murdock said crossly, frowning at Face. "You mean I didn't get a mention?"

"Murdock, she can't mention your name, but she's subtly described a mystery man though."

"Now I don't mind being called that." Murdock grinned and continued in a different voice, "'Mystery Man', that's who I am." Murdock tried to grab the paper, but Face pulled it out of his reach.

"Okay, it hasn't got anything about you in there," Face confessed. Hannibal chuckled as Murdock's face became a picture of gloom, as he folded his arms in front of him, like a small child in a tantrum.

"I told her to keep you out of it, Murdock. It's for your own good," Hannibal said firmly, straightening his expression. "And you know why she can't mention you, or even give a hint that there is a fourth member of the team," he said, turning his seat around towards Murdock and Face, leaning forward, putting a hand on Murdock's shoulder in reassurance.

"I know, I know." Murdock nodded, but still looked upset.

"I like this, 'resisting the bright smile of the handsome blonde', huh?" Face stopped mid-flow.

Murdock snapped out of his mood, catching Face unexpectedly, and swiftly took the paper from him. Face tried to grapple for the paper but failed. Murdock then continued reading the article, smiling smugly.

"Lieutenant Templeton Peck," Murdock grinned as he continued to read, "the team's perfect con artist, guaranteed to delivers the goods. With his dashing good looks and charming smile, he's apparently so good, you won't even realise you've been conned."

"Can you believe she called me a con artist?" Face said crossly, interrupting Murdock.

"In a good way, Faceman." Murdock tried to reassure him but Face unhappily propped his chin on the palm of his hand.

Hannibal chuckled.

"And their leader, Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith," Murdock continued ignoring Face's complaints. "When he starts planning, he takes turns on two wheels."

"Hey, give me that." Hannibal went to grab the newspaper and Murdock, without resistance, passed it to him. He wanted to read what she'd said about him for himself.

Hannibal smiled as he read the article and then looked at his team.

"What she say about BA?" Murdock asked enthusiastically. Hannibal handed the paper back to him. BA scowled, but started to smile as Murdock read.

"Sergeant Bosco Baracus, nicknamed BA for his bad attitude. But while his temperature gauge may run hot, his heart always remains warm – hey! Give me that back!"

BA had snatched the paper from Murdock's hands and screwed it up, growling, throwing it on the floor. Face smirked at Murdock's flabbergasted expression. Hannibal chuckled again.

Trying to hide his smile of satisfaction at winding Murdock up, BA swung round on his seat, so that they were all facing one another in the van.

"Okay team, we need to take a vote."

"Vote, Hannibal?" Face asked.

"Whether Amy comes on more missions with us. She's been bugging me about it for a while," Hannibal continued. "Wants to be more than an information gofer. Those are her words, by the way, not mine. She wants to be part of the team."

"Well, she handled Flores very well. We wouldn't have been able to get to him without her, Colonel," Murdock said. "It might have its uses having a female member on the team. She's got my vote."

"Yeah, yeah, she did do well. Her stories in the paper will be good for business," Face admitted. "Whether you like it or not, Hannibal," Face added catching Hannibal's frown. "And she'd be useful on some of my scams. She's proven she can think on her feet, too."

Hannibal turned to BA.

"I don't mind. She's tidier than those two," BA grumbled. Face and Murdock showed their disapproval of BA's comments by sticking out their tongues, but he just screwed his face up further at them. "If she joins the team, I'll keep her safe. I made myself a promise, in the warehouse that time."

Hannibal pondered for a moment. "But she _is_ a reporter."

"A good reporter, Hannibal," Face said. Hannibal looked at him, nodding. "We're already in the papers. At least this way, they'd be getting their facts right."

"Yeah, for a change," Murdock quickly added.

"Might actually do us some good, too. Get some of those paying customers we keep on talking about." Face smiled at Hannibal. He grinned back.

"Okay, so we let her on the team, unless I think the mission is too dangerous," Hannibal said. "Agreed?"

The three of them nodded back to Hannibal.

"But on one condition, Lieutenant." Hannibal looked Face straight in the eye as he said his words, a finger raised. There was sternness in his look.

"What?" Face looked confused.

"She's out of bounds." Hannibal's words were firm.

"Hey, hey, that's not fair, Hannibal. Why do you always assume it would be me? Huh? It was Murdock who got a little too cosy with Amy in that closet at Flores' place."

"Faceman, I told you that in the strictest of confidence," Murdock snapped. "Like you told me about the hotel corridor!"

"That was in the line of duty!" Face swept his hand through his hair.

"So putting your tongue down someone's throat makes you invisible now, does it?" Murdock snorted. "And I'm supposed to be the crazy one." Murdock rolled his eyes and continued to mutter under his breath.

"Oh and hiding in the closet, meant you needed to kiss her, did it?" Face snapped.

"Guys, guys!" Hannibal tried to intervene their petty argument. Face and Murdock looked at Hannibal . "I just can't have her on the team, if she's going to distract you, it'll be too dangerous." Pointing his finger at them both as he spoke. "For the both of you," Hannibal reiterated firmly. "You need to be able to concentrate on the job."

Murdock placed his baseball cap back on his head, whilst Face straightened his tie, both nodding in agreement.

"What about you, Hannibal?" BA spoke up. Hannibal glanced at him. BA had been sitting quietly until now. "You came close, too. I saw ya!"

Hannibal frowned at BA, as Murdock and Face looked at him, expectantly. What the hell is he talking about, thought Hannibal, noticing Face and Murdock glaring at him.

"Hannibal!" Face was the first to speak and his words sounded agitated. "And you have the nerve to point the finger at me?"

"I didn't do anything, Face," Hannibal replied. "Unlike you."

"Came close though." BA smiled, a little too smugly for Hannibal's liking, so he shot him a dirty look.

"Okay, BA, spit it out, what are you talking about?"

"That time in your office."

"What time?" Then it dawned on him, when they'd first moved into the warehouse. She'd been talking about him writing a book. Yeah, probably had looked ambiguous. And that's what BA had been mumbling about. Hannibal chuckled. "Nothing happened, she was just handing me back my lighter. Christ, BA, she's young enough to be my daughter-." Catching Murdock dig Face in the ribs out the corner of his eye, Hannibal instantly turned on them. "-And if I hear any of you repeat that, may god have mercy on you."

Face and Murdock nodded, duly noting Hannibal's threat.

"Satisfied, BA?" Hannibal looked at him, eyebrow raised and BA nodded.

Hannibal took a cigar out of his pocket and grinned. "Okay, it looks like the person I also need to talk to about fraternising with members of the team," Hannibal bit off the end of his cigar and put it between his teeth, "is Amy. All agreed?"

**END**


End file.
